The Truth in the Vision
by ecv
Summary: When Brennan leaves to escape Hannah and Booth, she makes a decision that puts her life in danger. How will Booth find out she needs help, and what does that mean for his relationships with the women in his life? My entry into the Bonesology Microfiction Challenge - 100 challenge words in chapters of no more than 300 words each. I don't own Bones.
1. Chapter 1 - Finger

"Angela told me I needed to move on," Temperance Brennan said as she raised the drink to her lips. Next to her, Hannah Burley, her partner's girlfriend did the same. Hannah had followed Booth back from Iraq and Brennan had done her best to befriend her.

Unfortunately, that bridge had burned spectacularly several evenings before when Brennan had admitted to Booth that she had feelings for him. Had always had feelings for him, despite what she'd claimed that evening outside of Sweet's office. And Booth had run home and told Hannah, after telling Brennan there was no longer a chance for them.

After calling Angela, crying on her shoulder and eating pints of ice cream, Angela had gently told Brennan that it was time to move on. That she would find another man. But Brennan knew that wasn't true. No man, no matter who they were, would ever take the time to break down her walls like Booth had. Too blind, too scared to see the truth, Brennan had run to Maluku to escape. When she came home, it was too late for her heart.

So Brennan had made some decisions. Logically. No emotion this time. This conversation was one of the last things she needed to do before she changed her life dramatically.

Hannah nodded at Brennan's statement and set her glass back on the bar after draining it. "And are you going to?" she asked after a moment. She worked hard to keep her voice neutral. Brennan and Booth's friendship had made her uncomfortable since her first day in D.C. but she hadn't been able to put her finger on exactly why. After Booth relayed the conversation or declaration, several pieces had fallen into place for Hannah. Brennan was the woman Booth had run to war to escape.


	2. Chapter 2 - Bad

Despite Booth's assurances that nothing had happened, and from what Hannah understood nothing _had_ happened, Booth and Brennan had been more than just partners. More than the friends Booth had insisted they were. Sex wasn't everything in a relationship and even if they hadn't taken that step, they had never been just friends.

Brennan traced her fingertip around the rim of her empty glass. She had always struggled with interpersonal relationships, but even she could tell this situation was awkward. "Yes," she finally answered. "I'm going to move."

"On," Hannah added after a pause, thinking Brennan had forgotten to add the word to the end of the sentence. She watched Brennan's finger circle the glass and wondered how many of those she had emptied before Hannah arrived. "You're going to move on."

Nodding, Brennan signaled for two more drinks. She pondered how many more she could drink before she should call a cab, then decided she was too tired to do the math. Math that would, of course, be simple for her to complete. However, even the simple calculations eluded her. "Yes," she agreed. "I'm moving on by moving. Away," she clarified. "Away from D.C. To a different part of the country." The drinks were making her explain this badly.

Hannah put a hand on her arm, her eyes widening in shock. "You're leaving D.C.?" she asked, making no effort to hide the shock in her voice. "Does Booth know?"

 _Does Booth know_? Brennan repeated the phrase in her head. Maybe if they were friends like they used to be she would have discussed it with him first. But they weren't. They hadn't been since that night on the steps…


	3. Chapter 3 - Intelligence

Reaching for the now full glass in front of her, Brennan drank a healthy swallow. "I don't think I need to ask Booth's permission to make decisions about my life," she answered coolly. "The decision to leave is already made. I have accepted a position at - well at another place," she finished lamely, deciding at the last second not to tell Hannah where she was going. If Booth hadn't kept her confession from Hannah, there was no way Hannah would keep this conversation from Booth. And Brennan didn't want him to know where she was going.

Another healthy swallow and Brennan again drained the glass. This time she pushed it away from her and didn't ask for another. She took a moment to assess herself and decided she should probably call a cab to take her home. Her intelligence seemed several points lower than it normally was. Alcohol could do that to a person.

Standing slowly, she turned and looked at Hannah. "I know I'm not good at this stuff," Brennan said, her hands indicating the two of them. "But I wanted to apologize if I hurt you or Booth. I only want him to be happy. And he seems to be with you. I shouldn't have interfered with that. I let emotions rule and that was wrong of me. Logic had always worked better for me. It's what I'm more comfortable with."

"Temperance," Hannah began, but stopped when Brennan held up her hand.

"I think this is a good time to say good-bye," she said. Brennan did not hold out her hand and made no move to hug her. Emotions ruled her once this week and she had no intention of letting it happen again.


	4. Chapter 4 - Announce

Yes, Booth had broken down her walls. But she would rebuild them. Only it wouldn't happen here. Where she could see him every day and ponder what she'd missed out on. The eight months she'd been gone the first time had allowed her to reevaluate and be willing to take a chance on them. Hannah had shown up and changed that. Now she needed to reevaluate again.

So Brennan looked over all her recent job offers and picked one. Using only logic, no emotions. And when the solution to her problems seemed so clear, she had called and taken it. One year at a new museum in Boston. One year to put her life back in order. And if in one year she still wasn't ready, well, there would definitely be more jobs out there. She was the best after all.

Away from the table, Brennan brushed angrily at the tears that were suddenly on her cheeks. She'd already told Angela what she was doing. Had given Cam her notice. All that was left was to finish emptying her apartment. There was nothing left to cry about.

Except for Booth. The conversation with him would surely bring her to tears, no matter how much logic she used. Because when Brennan announced what she was doing, she had a feeling he would't let her go without making his opinions known. It was up to her to make him see that he didn't have that right anymore. She only hoped she had the strength to do so.

Hannah watched Brennan walk across the floor, a look of shock on her face. Had that conversation really just taken place? Was Brennan really leaving? And if she was, why didn't Hannah feel relief? Instead, all she felt was an impending sense of doom. Seeley would flip when he found out. Dreading the conversation, Hannah pulled out her cell phone and dialed.


	5. Chapter 5 - Day

Brennan unlocked her door to see Booth waiting on her couch. She almost groaned, but managed to swallow it thickly. It had already been a long day; saying good-bye to people she considered family had been harder than she expected it to be.

Now, the man she was running from was sitting on her couch with a confused look in his eyes. For a moment, she considered simply turning around and walking back out the door.

Instead, Brennan threw her keys on the table and went in the kitchen for a glass of water and aspirin. If she didn't already have a headache, she would after the alcohol and this conversation.

Booth followed her into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He stopped short, realizing the only things in there were a bottle of orange juice and one last bottle of beer. Recovering, he grabbed the beer and twisted the cap off.

"Hannah says you're leaving," he said.

Brennan watched his throat move as he swallowed the beer. "Yes," she said finally, "I'm leaving."

"Taking a vacation?" he asked. There was no concern in his voice, but his eyes weren't hiding his emotions as well. "Malaki wasn't long enough for you?"

"Maluku," Brennan corrected wondering why she bothered. He hadn't said the name right since the day she left. "And it's not a vacation."

The bottle hit the counter with a thud. "You're really leaving?" he asked. "I thought Hannah misunderstood you."

"Did she even wait until I was out the door before she dialed?" Brennan asked. Her voice was tinged with annoyance. "What is it with the two of you?"

Booth's eyes widened, but his voice remained level. "The two of us? We're a couple. We share things. This conversation isn't about us anyway."

"It isn't about us either. There is no us, remember?"


	6. Chapter 6 - Murder

Booth ran his hand through his hair. "Of course, I remember," he said shortly. "But I seem to recall that the reason there is no 'us' is because of you."

Brennan sighed and put the glass into the sink. Walking past him, she moved into the living room. Most of the items had already been shipped or stored. What little remained would be put into her rental in the morning.

Booth watched her walk away. He'd already noticed how empty her place was and a spark of fear had settled into his chest making it feel hot. Nervously, he rubbed that spot, trying to make it go out.

"You're right," Brennan said plainly. "I refused to take a chance that night. I told you I couldn't change and you told me you had to move on. And you did, with Hannah. Well, now it's my turn."

He stopped rubbing his chest and looked at her. She looked tired, with dark circles under her eyes. "And this is how you move on? We are partners, Bones. We solve murders together. We make a difference," he reminded her.

"We were partners," Brennan said, disgusted to feel her eyes filling. Angrily, she took a deep breath and closed them until they were dry. "We haven't been the same since that night at the Hoover Building. And since Hannah arrived, it's been even worse."

Booth shoved his hands in his pockets, playing with the items he always kept there. "Listen Bones, I know things have been uncomfortable the last week or so -"

"The last week!" she interrupted. She opened her eyes wide. The volume of her own voice brought on the headache she was dreading. "It's been uncomfortable for months."


	7. Chapter 7 - Sad

Brennan watched him shift his weight from foot to foot. In a rare show of frustration, she threw her hands into the air. "I decided its time for me to get my geese in a row and change some things in my life."

"Ducks," Booth said with a hint of a smile. "Ducks in a row."

"See, that's exactly what I mean. You correct everything I say. Especially in front of other people. It's like you're embarrassed," her voice broke on the word and she swallowed before continuing. "Like you don't want to be seen with me anymore."

Booth opened his mouth to disagree, but closed it before speaking. Replaying the last several months in his mind, he was forced to admit she had a point. He had tried to distance himself from her, to form a barrier between them. But he had never meant to hurt her. It had been the only way to protect his heart.

"I didn't do it to make you sad," he said softly. He stepped toward her, but she just as quickly stepped back and he stopped advancing. A sudden realization occurred to him and his chest didn't just spark, it exploded. "I can't change your mind, can I?"

She shook her head. "No," she agreed. "You can't"

HIs eyes and face were sad when he asked, "So where are you going?"

Bones pressed her lips together and didn't answer. She met his eyes and his heart dropped.

"Don't ask that of me, Bones." He was desperate now and was willing to drop to his knees and beg if that's what it took. "Don't ask me to never speak to you again. I can't do it."


	8. Chapter 8 - Plan

Bones saw his desperation and felt her resolve weakening. "Not never," she said. "Just…for a little while. Until I get settled."

How could she do this to him? They were friends, partners. "What excuses are you giving yourself to make this move okay? What is the logical side of your brain telling you?"

"They aren't excuses," she cried. "Every day I stay here I die a little more. I can't pretend anymore, Booth," she confessed. What words could she use to make him understand. "I can't watch you with Hannah and pretend that I'm okay with it. I have to move on, too. This is the only I can."

"And the best plan you could come up with is to run away from everyone who's ever cared for you. To cut us out of your life?" He brushed past her to grab what was left of his beer from the counter.

"Not everyone," Bones said quietly behind him. "Angela, Cam, they know where I'm going."

He tossed the bottle into the sink where it landed with a crash. He turned in time to see her flinch. That little movement had his anger draining away with what was left of his beer. "So I'm the only one you won't be speaking to." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, Booth," she answered bluntly. There were no more tears. She was done crying over spilled…over whatever was spilled. Her decisions were made.

"And there's no changing your mind?"

"No."

Booth sighed and rubbed both hands over his face. "Angela knows where you're going? You gave her your plans? When you expect to get there?"

Brennan allowed a small smile to cross her face. Same Booth. No matter what happened between them he would make sure the people he cared for were safe.


	9. Chapter 9 - Ill

"She knows. She has copies of the route I am following to get there. We've made arrangements. I'll be okay, Booth," she reassured quietly. "I just need some time."

"Time and space?"

Brennan flashed back to their conversation outside the bar. When Booth had made the decision to not rescue his brother any longer. "Yes, Booth. Time and space."

Turning away from her, he grabbed the broken bottle from the sink and threw it into the recycling bin. This shouldn't be bothering him quite so much. He had moved on. Hannah was waiting for him at home. Yet the woman behind him had been a constant presence for several years. He wasn't sure how to live without her anymore.

Brennan could see the tension in his shoulders, but she made no move toward him. A single touch and she would break. Would call the museum and tell them she'd changed her mind. "You need to leave, Booth. I have a long way to go in the morning." The combination of alcohol and this conversation made her ill. She wanted to go to sleep.

Booth opened his mouth to ask another question, but stopped when he saw the determination in his partner's eyes. Ex-partner, his mind corrected before he silenced the little voice. "Six months," he said roughly. He moved toward the door but made sure she could see what was in his eyes. She wasn't the only one who could be stubborn.

"Booth," she said softly.

"No," he answered, opening the door. "You have six months. If I don't hear from you before then, I'm coming to find you. And no one will stop me."


	10. Chapter 10 - Secret

Brennan was up early the next morning, when sleep was no longer an option. The alcohol had allowed her to fall asleep easily, but it hadn't kept her asleep for long.

It was misting lightly as she loaded the final box into the SUV she had rented for the trip. It was not environmentally friendly, but a larger vehicle was needed to transport the last items to her new apartment. Her practical mind had decided it was not wasteful this one time.

At the last minute, she had left a note for Booth on the table in the kitchen. Brennan was rarely certain about relationships, but she was certain Booth would come to her apartment after she'd left. Her former partner would need to see that she was actually gone.

She'd told him the truth last night. Most of it, anyway. Angela had a copy of her route, except for the detour she planned on taking after leaving the city. A secret detour to a place she hadn't seen in years.

The summer before her parents left, they had taken Brennan and Russ hiking in the mountains. One morning, her father had woken her early to see the sunrise. It was one of the last happy memories she had of the four of them together. It wasn't the safest hike, off trail and high on a mountain peak, but it was worth it.

Now, with the future gutted, she needed and wanted to start over. The mountain would give her a place to clear her mind and do that.

Pulling out of the driveway, Brennan resisted the urge to look back. All the time spent with Booth had made her sentimental. It was time to leave that behind and return to the logic that had served her so well. Ahead of her was her future, because where else would it be?


	11. Chapter 11 - Behind

The sun was high in the sky behind her as she approached the top of her mountain. It had certainly seemed higher when she and her father climbed it, but it was no less steep.

Brennan carried a backpack she'd thrown into her car at the last minute. She hadn't checked it since coming back from Maluku, but she trusted it had enough supplies for a day hike. Her cell phone was back in her SUV, turned off because there was no signal where she was hiking.

The conversation with Angela the night before had been awkward. Mostly because no matter how many times she reassured Angela she was fine, it was clear her best friend didn't believe her.

But Brennan was fine. Sure she had just packed up her life and left, but it hadn't been for a good reason. Logically it was the best thing for her. Angela simply wasn't as logical.

At the summit, Brennan found a rock ledge and sat. In the distance, the valley stretched out before her. It seemed as if you could see the world from here, but Brennan knew that was impossible due to the curvature of the Earth. Still, for a moment, she could pretend .

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it work," she said suddenly. It felt foolish to speak when there was no one listening, but it seemed important to give the words a voice. A weight they wouldn't have if they were only in her head. If words could have weight, because really, how could they?

Laughing at herself, she got to her feet. She would be fine. Because hearts couldn't break. It was time to move on, just like Angela told her. Apparently the mountain agreed with her, because it chose that moment to move from beneath her feet.


	12. Chapter 12 - Want

"How are you feeling now that Dr. Brennan is gone?" Sweets asked when Booth stormed into his office the next day. It was clear he wasn't doing well at all, but Sweets felt it was more important that Booth admit it.

"I'm fine," he said shortly. The look on his face made it clear that this was not a line of discussion he was interested in pursuing.

"You and Dr. Brennan have been working together a long time," Sweets continued as if Booth hadn't spoken. "If you want to talk about how your role has changed now that she is gone, I'm here."

"I don't," Booth answered shortly. He opened his mouth to tell Sweets what he did want when the room shifted around him. Booth was certain he was still standing, but he felt as if the floor beneath his feet disappeared.

Suddenly, there were trees in front of his eyes. When did trees start growing in the office? And why were they upside down and then right side up again?

He reached out to the chair next to him to steady himself, but the unsettling sensations continued. He wondered briefly if his emotional distress was causing him to hallucinate. Even while he was thinking it, the trees and now the sky continued to spin in front of his eyes.

"Agent Booth," Sweets said. "Are you okay?"

Booth tried to nod, but was forced to clench his jaw tight when pain shot from his ankle to hip. No longer able to stand he sank to the floor next to the chair and tried to hold on to his breakfast.


	13. Chapter 13 - Stranded

"Booth!" Sweets cried, moving to his side. "What's wrong?"

Booth held out his hand to stop Sweets from touching him. The spinning had stopped and all he could see now was clear blue sky before he blinked again and was back in the office.

Taking a deep breath, Booth grabbed the garbage can and promptly lost the little he'd eaten that morning. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he met Sweets' concerned eyes across the room. "Something's wrong with Bones," he said without preamble.

Sweets moved to a chair near him. "Are you sure? You've been under a lot of stress lately, and it would be perfectly normal…" He trailed off at the look in Booth's eyes.

"She's stranded, hurt." He rubbed his right leg remembering the pain that had shot through it. "I saw trees, and sky. She was supposed to be in her car. Why would I see sky?"

Sweets struggled to make sense of what Booth was saying. "Are you saying you saw what she saw? Felt what she felt?"

Booth pushed the garbage can away from him. "Yeah, Sweets. I know how it sounds. But I know what happened." He dragged himself to his feet and collapsed into one of the chairs.

Nodding, Sweets reached to his desk for a pad and pencil. "Okay. Tell me everything you saw. Sensations, feelings, anything."

"Trees," Booth said immediately. "Tumbling and twirling. Sky where the ground should be. The floor falling from beneath my feet." Booth rubbed his head, fighting back the greasy nausea. "Pain in my right leg. From ankle to hip."

Sweets wrote every word exactly as Booth said them. He couldn't understand exactly what happened, but Booth believed Dr. Brennan was in danger. For now, that was enough.


	14. Chapter 14 - Wealthy

"Dude," Hodgins said. "Booth had a vision? About Brennan? That is so cool."

"Not really," Sweets argued. "I believe his vision could be a manifestation of his true feelings about Dr. Brennan."

"Or it could be a real vision and she could be in trouble," Angela said. Frowning, she thought back to the conversation they'd had the night before. "She sounded okay yesterday. A little distracted maybe, but that's normal for her."

"So you talked to her?" Sweets asked.

"Of course. That was the deal. She would call everyday at noon and seven. When she got to where she was going, she only had to call once a day."

Sweets smiled. "So you must have just talked to her then."

Angela continued to frown. "No, but it's not noon yet."

Hodgins glanced at his watch and back to his wife. "It's after one, Angie. Are you sure you didn't miss her call?"

"No, my phone's right here. It hasn't made a sound in hours. Oh God, Hodgins, what if Booth is right?" Reaching out she grabbed the pad from Sweets' hand. "Tumbling trees and blue sky," she read aloud. "Why were there trees and sky? She drove a car."

"Booth said the same thing." Sweets stepped behind her and read over her shoulder. "He said he felt the floor fall. Maybe Dr. Brennan fell."

"In her car?" Angela asked dryly. "How exactly do you fall in a car?"

"Maybe Brennan took a detour," Hodgins offered. "Writing all of those books has made her wealthy. Maybe she decided to take a couple of days for herself before starting that new job."

"No, honey," Angela disagreed. "Straight there, no detours. That was the deal. I have a copy of the map. She highlighted the route."

"Yes, because Dr. B. has never done anything without telling us," Hodgins said in a voice heavy with sarcasm.


	15. Chapter 15 - Marriage

When the ground fell from beneath her feet, Brennan was sure she was going to die. She would miss her chance at marriage, children, and the Nobel Prize. But just as quickly, she reached her arms over her head and fought for her life. She wanted that Nobel Prize.

The first tree slowed her fall, but sent her tumbling end over end. Sky, trees, sky, trees, until she lost all sense of direction.

The second tree stopped her descent, but not without cost. The snap was loud in the forest and Brennan screamed in pain. Fighting the darkness at the edges of her vision, she looked up at the clear blue sky that was now in its proper place above her.

Her breath came in short gasps and Brennan forced herself to breath slowly, in through her nose and out through her mouth. She counted each breath carefully, focusing only on her breathing and nothing else.

Finally, her heart rate slowed enough to convince her she wouldn't pass out. She turned her head slowly to the left and right. She was relieved to see there were no signs of a steep drop off on either side.

Arching her neck, Brennan could see where the rock ledge had broken cleanly away from the mountain. Luckily for her the shelf hadn't been over a sheer drop to the river below. For the moment, her position was secure.

Slowly, she sat up. Immediately, warm blood from a cut on her forehead began running down her face. Reaching up, Brennan touched the blood and then looked at her fingers. A cut on her forehead would bleed a lot, but it wouldn't kill her.

The same couldn't be said of her right leg. Either the tibia or fibula were fractured. Perhaps both. Off trail, unable to walk, the injury could be a death sentence.


	16. Chapter 16 - Affect

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews and follows and favorites. I appreciate them all. To those commenting on the length of the chapters, please remember this story was written as part of a challenge. 100 words were provided to be used in entries of no more than 300 words each. The word provided can be found in the chapter title. This means this story will be 100 chapters long and each chapter will be 300 words each. Sorry if you want the chapters longer or the story shorter, that wasn't part of the challenge.**

 **Again, thank you to all of those taking the time out of their busy day to read this story.**

Ooooooooooooooo

"Where's Booth?" Angela asked. She looked at the notepad again. Trees and sky. And pain. She had glossed over that word the first time, but now it appeared bigger than any other on the page.

"He's in my office," Sweets said, pointing over his shoulder in that general direction. "After he stopped feeling like he was going to throw up, he took it over."

Angela met Hodgins eyes and they both nodded. "I'll come with you," he said. Together, they walked off the platform and headed toward Angela's office.

"Where are you going?" Sweets called after them.

Angela turned and looked at him like the child he was always accused of being. "To find Brennan, of course.

"You don't think this could all be a product of Dr. Brennan leaving?"

Angela put her hand on Hodgins arm before walking back toward Sweets. "Sweetie, he wasn't affected like this the last time she left. They were a world apart and not only was Booth fine, he managed to find a girlfriend. She hasn't even been gone a whole week yet and he's having visions. No, something is definitely wrong."

"Her phone is turned off," Booth announced as he walked in. Angela immediately noticed he was limping slightly. "Why did she turn her phone off?"

Angela remembered the word on Sweets notepad and narrowed her eyes at Booth. "Can you still feel her?"

Booth looked confused for a moment before his eyes cleared. "No," he said, slightly embarrassed. "My leg just aches a little still. It's better than it was."

"How do you know her phone is off?" Hodgins asked, coming up behind them.

"Because I just called it about twenty times. It just went to voice mail."


	17. Chapter 17 - Long Hours

Brennan spent several long hours, sitting on the mountain, thinking about her options. With several broken bones in her right leg, it would be difficult to climb up or down without extreme pain.

And while her position was secure, it was still precarious. Where she ended up was steep, and one wrong move could send her further down the mountain.

Her pack had been securely fastened to her as she fell. Taking it from her back, she inventoried her supplies. Three protein bars, a GPS that told her exactly how far from the trail and civilization she now was, several bottles of water and an extra sweatshirt.

In the side pockets she found a package of crushed crackers, a small pocket knife and a paracord bracelet. Brennan smiled when she remembered Parker giving her the small gift before she left for Maluku. He'd been so serious; he guaranteed she could use the cord for anything.

"Twelve hours," she said aloud, again amazed to find herself talking to no one. "If in twelve hours no one has found me, I'll come up with a plan."

Experimentally, she planted her left foot and pushed back, just to see if she could do it. Excruciating pain in her right leg caused her to cry out, but she did move back up the mountain a little. She supposed, if no one found her, she would be able to maneuver to a different location, given enough time and energy.


	18. Chapter 18 - Worthy

"I'll go back to my office," Angela said. "I'll get her phone records and check road cameras. Let's see if we can figure out how far she made it."

Nodding, Booth watched them go. He turned to Sweets, when his leg buckled and he sat down hard on the steps to the platform. "Shit," he muttered, not meeting Sweets' eyes. "I'm sure she broke her leg. The lower part at least."

Sweets didn't argue with him, instead sitting on the steps next to him. "Listen, Booth, I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm going to say it anyway."

"Sweets, if this is some conversation about how my repressed feelings for Bones are making this happen, I swear I'm going to take my gun out and shoot you."

"Then shoot me. Go ahead. Because if you really have this connection to Dr. Brennan right now, it isn't because you are just friends. You love her. You've always loved her and you still love her."

"All right, fine, I still love her. Is that what you want to hear? But I'm with Hannah now, and it doesn't matter. Because Bones obviously doesn't want to be with me. She's never wanted to be with me. That's how we ended up here in the first place."

"Dr. Brennan never thought she was worthy of you," Sweets confided suddenly. "She was never quite sure exactly what you saw in her. And on the steps of the Hoover building that night, when she told you she couldn't change, you never told her she didn't have to. It scared her."

"She told you that?" Booth asked, shocked that she would tell him even half. Hauling himself to his feet, he tested the leg gingerly before walking toward Angela's office.

"Of course not," Sweets called after him. "But it's my job to figure these things out."


	19. Chapter 19 - Sinful

"Did you find anything?" Booth asked as soon as he entered the door. It seemed like it had been days already, but his watch showed it was just after four in the afternoon. If Bones was okay, she would call in less than three hours. But Booth knew if Angela's phone rang that evening, it would not be Bones on the other end.

"In the last ten minutes, no." Angela was concerned, but she wasn't quite ready to panic, yet. "I did manage to get her cell phone records already. The last tower her phone registered on was this one," she said, bringing up a map.

"Is that on the route she was supposed to take?"

Angela looked at the map, made eye contact with Booth, and made a decision. "No, this is nowhere near the route she was taking to Boston."

"Boston?" Booth echoed, reaching into his pocket for a coin to flip nervously. "What was in Boston?"

"It's more about what wasn't there, Sweetie,"Angela explained gently.

Realizing she meant him, Booth grabbed the coin from mid-air and squeezed it in his fist. "She was going to get away from me."

"Well, yeah," Angela confirmed. "Doesn't it seem a little sinful for you to be this concerned about her when you are still with Hannah? If Brennan isn't hurt, she's going to be pissed that you did this."

"You don't believe me?" Booth asked, realizing his right leg had stopped aching for the first time in hours. Somehow that scared him more than the vision had.

"I once saved my friend in the desert when nothing more than her image walked in front of me. If anyone believes in visions, it's me."


	20. Chapter 20 - Obvious

Booth smiled at Angela, relieved to find someone who would support him. "I still don't understand why she was in the mountains," he said.

Angela turned back to the screen. "Neither do I. But we know Brennan makes her own path. She must have thought this was important for some reason."

Booth moved closer to the screen, staring at the blinking dot. The last place he knew for sure Bones had been. Reaching out, he brushed his fingers across the screen. He couldn't fix this problem, yet, but there was something he could fix.

"Can you keep working on this?" he asked without turning around. "I need to go take care of something else."

Angela reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "We'll find her, Booth."

"I didn't mean to hurt her, Angela. But it's obvious I need to start fixing things around here."

He brushed off her hand and walked away.

Angela looked over in the corner of her office to see Hodgins sitting quietly in the shadows. "What do you think he's going to take care of?"

Hodgins came forward and also stared at the blinking dot on the screen. "Can you put up the towers her phone registered on before this one."

"Uh, sure," she answered, tapping several buttons on the pad in her hand. In a moment, the information appeared.

"Now can you overlay the roads?"

A few more clicks and the new information appeared as well. Angela stood next to him and her eyes widened. Reaching forward she traced the cell phone towers in order, looking at the nearby roads simultaneously. "You're brilliant, Hodgins," she said. Turning her head she kissed him soundly.


	21. Chapter 21 - Caught

"Hannah!" Booth yelled, walking through the door. He took off his coat as he walked, throwing it over a chair. He figured he would take enough time for a quick shower, because he had no intention of entering the apartment again until he found Bones.

"Back here," she answered.

Booth entered their shared bedroom to find Hannah packing a suitcase. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "For a couple of days. You just caught me before I left." Hannah looked up from the suitcase to notice his mood. Her smile faded. "Is something wrong, Seeley?"

Booth ran both hands through his hair. "Bones was in an accident," he said. The simplest explanation seemed the easiest at this point.

"Oh my God, Seeley! Is she okay? Where is she?"

Ignoring the questions, Booth looked around the room. Hannah had been here for several months, yet there was very little of her in the apartment. In the past years he'd managed a relationship with no sex, and sex with no relationship. He wondered briefly if he'd ever get both at the same time.

"Seeley," Hannah said. "What is going on?"

Moving to the dresser, Booth emptied his pockets slowly, wondering how to begin the conversation. Hannah, I'm still in love with Bones, certainly didn't seem like the best place to start.

Hannah noticed the tension in his shoulders and started the conversation for him. "Should I pack the rest of my stuff after I finish with the suitcase?"

Booth turned and crossed his arms over his chest. "I think that might be best."

She nodded, but didn't appear that upset by his answer, which told him everything he needed to know. "Did Brennan's accident help you figure out some things?"

"Yeah," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's made some things clearer to me."


	22. Chapter 22 - Splatter

Brennan opened the first bottle of water, careful not to splatter a drop as she drank several swallows. With no easy way to move up or down, she was left with hours with nothing but her own thoughts to fill them.

First, she'd gone through every bone in the human body. That hadn't taken as long as she had hoped, so the second time she went through them in alphabetical order. The third time was in reverse.

Next, she'd unwrapped the paracord bracelet, pleasantly surprised to see exactly how much cord went into a bracelet of this type. With a few sticks near her, she'd managed to create a makeshift splint for her leg.

Careful, and painful exploration had reassured her that the bones were not misplaced. Neither was in danger of coming through the skin and creating a compound fracture, an injury that would surely be deadly in a matter of days.

The splint would not allow her to walk, or climb easily, but it did allow her to move with less pain.

So, what she was left with was time. Time to reflect on the crazy chances she'd taken, without any thought to logic.

Logic would have told her to leave information about this climb with someone. Logic would have told her it was not safe to hike off trail, alone. Logic would have told her to prepare her pack in case something happened.

Instead, she had made this climb based on emotion. Emotional memories of a better, happier time in her life. Feelings she wanted to remember and feel again.

Her relationship with Booth had changed her. Burying her emotions completely was no longer possible. Not entirely. And her inability to reconcile her logic with her emotions may end costing Brennan's everything.


	23. Chapter 23 - Flight

"Does you wanting me to leave have something to do with Brennan?" Hannah asked softly. She sat slowly on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, it does," he confirmed, thankful Hannah didn't ask for specifics. Hadn't he told her not too long ago that it was over between him and Bones?

"I always knew this was a rebound relationship for you, even if you didn't see it that way. Had I known just what was going on back here in D.C., I probably never would have left the war zone."

She looked down at her hands to find a shirt clutched in them. Smoothing it carefully, she folded it and placed it into the suitcase. "I'll take tonight to clear out my things. I can push my flight back a few hours."

Sitting down next to her, Booth took her hand in his. "I didn't want to hurt you, Hannah. Unfortunately it seems to be what I'm good at lately."

Hannah laughed softly. "You made me happy, Seeley. I'm not the marrying kind, and you are. This relationship has always had a limited shelf life, even if you didn't see it that way."

Now, " she said brusquely, getting to her feet. "Go to Brennan. Make sure she's okay. I'll be fine."

Leaving her in the bedroom, Booth locked himself in the bathroom. A ten minute shower, and then he would go to Bones' apartment and see if he could find any clues there. It was probably too much to hope that she'd left a map with a big red circle on it.

He was rinsing his hair when the sky appeared behind his closed eyes. He braced his hand on the wall and kept his eyes closed. "Come on, Bones," he whispered. "Look at something that will help me."

But seconds later, it was gone again. And Booth was no closer to finding her.


	24. Chapter 24 - Slip

Brennan drifted for a time, careful not to slip fully into sleep. When she opened her eyes again, the sky was still blue, but darker. Night was coming.

Reaching into her pack, she pulled the sweatshirt over her head. With no way to start a fire, it would be difficult to maintain her core body temperature.

Angry at herself, at a fate she didn't believe in, she planted her left foot and pushed. She moved up the mountain a little, but with many feet to go, it would take hours to get back to where she fell from. Her hands were sticky with her own blood, sticks, and leaves. Despite the strong urge to clean them, she knew she couldn't waste a single drop of water to do so.

Grabbing a protein bar, Brennan broke off half and ate it. She was hungry enough to eat all three bars, but she carefully set the remaining half next to the other two.

With no other options, she lay back in the leaves. It was well after seven. Angela would know something was wrong. Would she call Booth right away, or wait until morning?

And what would Booth do? Brennan had made it pretty clear that she didn't want to hear from him. Would he listen to Angela try to explain? Would he offer to help? Would he tell Angela to give it another day before he started to worry?

No, Booth would help right away. Brennan was as sure of that as she was that the sun would come up tomorrow. No matter what had happened between them, he would do everything possible to make sure she didn't die on this mountain.

As the sky continued to darken, Brennan watched the stars appear. She knew some of the constellations, thanks to her father. His voice whispered in her head as she named them. After going through each one, Brennan let herself drift again.


	25. Chapter 25 - Escape

The white envelope with his name on it was hard to miss in the empty apartment. Booth hesitated a moment before grabbing it and tearing open the seal. The sight of her writing forced him to pull out a chair and sit. He sent up a silent prayer that it would not be the last thing from her he would ever receive.

 _Dear Booth,_

 _I'm writing this letter to apologize to you. I had no right to come between you and Hannah._

 _Logically, I know you are only doing what you said you would. For some reason, that doesn't make it any easier for me._

 _That night, on the steps of the Hoover Building, I told you I couldn't change. I think I was wrong. I think I had changed, had been changing since the day I met you. I simply couldn't see it at the time._

 _Logically, I also know I am leaving to escape emotions I don't really understand. I hope that someday you can forgive me for that, too._

 _There is no doubt in my mind, you will find me in six months._

 _Until then,_

 _Bones_

"Damn it," Booth muttered, flipping the page over to look for writing on the back. "There is nothing to forgive. And as much as this letter means to me, I was really hoping for a map."

Seeing nothing else of value, Booth tucked the letter back into the original envelope. The apartment was empty; no more help would be found here.

"Bones," Booth said as he closed the door to the empty apartment. "I certainly hope you are wrong about this one. Because finding you six months from now is the last thing I want to happen."


	26. Chapter 26 - Honor

Booth walked back into Angela's office a little after eight. One look at her face told him what he needed to know. "She didn't call."

Angela shook her head. "Cam showed up a little while ago so I filled her in. She's back in her office making some phone calls."

Booth's attention was drawn to the map. "There's more here than when I left."

"Hodgins had an idea," Angela explained. "We took all the cell phone data and plotted it on the map. Main and secondary roads are there as well. Using that, we've narrowed it down to three roads we think Brennan could have been on before the signal was lost."

A couple clicks and those roads appeared on the map, traced in bright yellow. "None of them are anywhere near civilization," Angela pointed out.

"What the hell is she doing out there?" Booth asked in frustration.

"Hiking," Cam said, coming in behind them. "This part of the state is criss-crossed with hiking trails. Brennan likes to be outdoors. She always went on those crazy digs in far off places. My guess would be she's hiking."

"Off trail, or someone would have found her by now," Booth concluded. He shook his head. "Where's her logic now?" Booth wondered aloud. When no one answered, he looked over at Cam, and his eyes widened. "Where are you coming from?"

Cam looked down at the fancy dress and high heels. Finally, she shrugged. "I was at a party to honor a patron of the Jeffersonian when Angela called. I left as soon as I could make my excuses."

"Thanks, Cam," Booth said.

"Don't thank me, yet," Cam responded coolly. "Thank me after we find her."


	27. Chapter 27 - Ashamed

Cam found him a short time later at a table overlooking the platform. He mindlessly stirred a cup of coffee, one that she was sure he had no intention of drinking.

"I called in some favors," Cam said, sitting down across the table from him.

"I put a BOLO out on her rental vehicle. Indicated where we thought she might be and asked patrols to check all the campgrounds and parking lots to look for it," Booth said, never taking his eyes from the cup.

"I told a couple people it was a matter of national security that we find her car," Cam said. "That will get some attention."

He raised an eyebrow and looked at her with some amusement. She shrugged and smiled. "If we don't find her quickly, you'll take down every tree in the forest until you do. It's the security of our national forests I'm worried about. Figured that was close enough."

Booth quit stirring the coffee and pushed the cup away without taking a drink. "I'm ashamed of how I've treated her, Cam."

Cam's dark eyes met his and what he saw there was understanding. "You did what you had to do, Seeley. You have nothing to apologize for. Hannah - "

"There is no more, Hannah," Booth interrupted. "She's packing up her stuff right now." Booth blinked and the room darkened, with white spots appearing in front of his eyes. He wished he had a little more warning before these things happened.

"What do you see?" Cam asked, noting the distant look that appeared in his eyes.

"Stars, I think," he answered. "The stars are coming out." When the image faded, he reached out and slapped the coffee cup off the table in frustration.


	28. Chapter 28 - Attentive

Booth stormed back into Angela's office to see her and Hodgins talking quietly. He hesitated in the doorway, not sure he should interrupt. It occurred to him that he probably wasn't the only one scared out of his mind at that very moment.

Angela and Hodgins were what he'd always hoped he and Bones could be. Attentive, caring, and passionate, they were perfect for each other. The baby would be lucky to have them as parents.

"You should go home," he said to the two of them. "The baby needs you to sleep."

"I'll sleep on the couch," Angela said, and Booth didn't argue. If she needed to leave, Hodgins would make sure she was taken care of.

"What's the box on the map now?" Booth asked.

"It's the dead zone," Angela explained. At Booth's panicked look, she hurried to explain. "For phones. It's the area of the region that has no cell phone signals. Her phone never registered on another tower, which makes me pretty sure she's somewhere in that box."

The sheer size of it made Booth sick to his stomach. "I just saw stars. Wherever she is, it's clear enough she can see the sky."

"There are lots of open spots out there. If you're right, and she's off trail, it's only going to make our job more difficult."

"Did anyone call Max or Russ? Maybe they'd know what she was doing?"

"I called earlier," Hodgins said. "Max is unreachable, some boat trip with a new girlfriend. Russ said they used to camp in this area all the time. A different place each time. He said he might be able to remember some of the places they'd been, but he didn't think he could narrow it down much."


	29. Chapter 29 - Motivated

Brennan dozed on and off until about two in the morning when she just couldn't sleep anymore. She'd been outside many times at night, but it usually involved a tent and a sleeping bag. Being out in the night air, with nothing to protect her from the bugs, made the night miserable.

In the dark, she started to come up with a plan. While the area was steep, she thought that it was possible for her to get near to where the mountain gave way. If she could use her good leg and the few trees to inch her way back up, she was sure she could get almost to the top.

In the morning, she would work at it for one hour. Then do some calculations to see exactly how long it would take her to make the climb. It was important she start climbing while she still had food and water left. It wouldn't take long for her to be too weak to do much more than sit.

The plan motivated her to keep up hope. Booth was looking for her. She would do her part. Even with Hannah still in the picture, Booth would be the one she'd fight to survive for.

And when she was off this mountain, she'd call Boston and back out of the position. Booth probably wouldn't let her leave Washington, and that was okay with her. Logic had failed her, emotions had failed her, she wasn't sure what was left. But when she survived this, she was going to find out.

Using the pack for a pillow, Brennan rested her head on it gently. Her forehead had stopped bleeding hours ago, but she didn't want to accidentally reopen the wound. Closing her eyes, she let herself fall fully asleep.


	30. Chapter 30 - Grovel

Booth went into Bones' glass office and lay on the couch. There had been no news on the BOLO and they were all in a holding pattern. The waiting was the hardest part.

He closed his eyes for just a moment, but when he opened them again, he was no longer in the office. It was dark, and the air was cool on his skin. Above him were the same stars he saw earlier.

Turning his head to his left, he was surprised to see Bones next to him. There was a cut on her forehead, and blood had matted her hair. Booth had never seen anything more beautiful.

"Bones," he whispered afraid to break the spell.

Her eyes opened and she looked at him in confusion. "Booth?"

"Yeah," he said. He reached out to touch her, but his hand passed through her. "Where are you?"

"This is a dream," she said. "A product of a mind under extreme stress due to the injury and lack of food and water."

"Where are you?" he asked again.

"I'm going to climb the mountain tomorrow. But I don't think I can get to the top. You have to find me. I can't do it by myself," she said, her eyes closing in sleep again.

"Damn it, Bones, where are you?" Booth was ready to beg, to grovel at her feet, to get her to answer that one simple question. But when her eyes closed, he was back in her office again.

Sweets walked in and looked around. Other than Booth, there was no one in the room. "Who are you talking to?" he asked.

"Bones," Booth said wearily. "I was talking to Bones."


	31. Chapter 31 - Swear

"So your…visions…have progressed from just quick images to full blown hallucinations, with conversation," Sweets clarified after he finished taking notes on Booth's latest vision. "Agent Booth, I think we need - "

Booth snatched the pad from his hand and read the words over to see if he'd missed anything. "You've made it perfectly clear you don't believe me, Dr. Sweets. And I don't need you to."

"It's not a matter of belief, Agent Booth. I simply think we need to look at all the possibilities."

"How about these possibilities? We haven't heard from her in over twenty-four hours. She hasn't turned her phone back on. Her cell phone last registered at a tower outside mountains that according to Russ her family visited on several occasions. Even without my 'visions'," he said, his voice mocking the word, "it's pretty clear something is wrong!"

Booth was yelling loud enough that the rest of the team gathered outside the door to see what was taking place. Taking a breath, he threw the notebook at them, watching it slide across the floor and stop at Cam's feet.

"Get him out of here," growled Booth. "Get him out of here, or I swear I won't be responsible for what I do to him."

Sweets turned to the group. "Do you believe him? Do you believe he's seeing Dr. Brennan? Because, I'm sorry, that just isn't normal." The implication that Booth had seen things before was left hanging in the air.

Hodgins watched Booth's fists clench. One swing, and the doctor would land next to the notebook at Cam's feet. Booth rarely resorted to violence, but when it came to Brennan, all bets were off. Before the room erupted, Angela took a step forward.

"Yes," she said. Her voice, calm and sure, deflated some of the tension in the room. "Yes, Sweets, we all believe him."


	32. Chapter 32 - Shoot

"Get him out of here, or I"m going to shoot him," Booth threatened, not for the first time that day.

"Come on, man," Hodgins said, grabbing Sweets' arm. "Let's go for a walk."

Cam reached down and picked up the pad at her feet. Since Booth had last seen her, she'd changed out of the fancy gown into something more comfortable. Looking at the clock on the wall, Booth was surprised to see it wasn't quite 3 o'clock in the morning. Apparently, he'd been asleep longer than he thought.

"You saw her again?" Cam asked after reading the notes Sweet took.

"Yeah. She's still alive. I could see her, could talk to her, and she saw me, but didn't answer the only question I asked her." Booth paced back and forth across the floor, frustrated that he couldn't get more out of the visions he was having. What was the point of them if they didn't help him find her?

"Where she was." It was the only question Cam would have asked, too.

Angela read over Cam's shoulder. "She's going to climb the mountain. And earlier, Booth, you said you felt like you fell?"

Booth nodded.

"I think she's up higher. Higher off the trails. If we can find her car and have a general area, we might be able to figure out which way she went. I talked to her the night before and she was definitely in a hotel. She wouldn't have climbed until the next morning. Since she didn't call at noon, we can assume she fell sometime before then. It might help narrow the area."

Booth sighed, and looked at Angela and Cam gratefully. He opened his mouth to speak, but Cam held up her hand and stopped him. "I told you not to thank me until we found her. And I meant it. When we find her, you're going to owe me the moon, Seeley Booth."

"If you find her," Booth promised, "I'll give it to you."


	33. Chapter 33 - Switch

Brennan woke early the next morning, as the sun came over the peak behind her. The change in light had her opening her eyes groggily. It took only a moment for her to remember where she was, and why she was there.

She had a vague recollection of a dream from the night before. Booth had been there, next to her on the ground. He'd tried to speak to her, but she couldn't hear him. A product of exhaustion and hunger, the hallucination still comforted her somehow.

Laying on the cool ground made her colder than she was comfortable with. Sitting up slowly, she moved into several modified yoga positions. The switch from position to position warmed her body, and her mind.

After an unsatisfying breakfast, she scooted around until she could see her goal: the top of the mountain.

About five feet above her was her first goal, a small tree. Putting all her supplies into her pack, she secured it to her back. If something happened, and she slid further down the hill, at least she would still have the food and water.

Carefully, she planted her hands and pushed back with her left foot. The position dragged her broken leg along the ground, but also propelled her back about one foot at a time.

Plant, push, plant, push, grit her teeth when the pain was too much. Her world contracted to just those simple motions, until several minutes later, she felt the tree at her back.

Relieved to have made it that far, she pushed her matted hair from her face and smiled. Her mind wanted to figure out had far she had to go, how long it would take to get there, but she stopped herself. Small goals would keep her spirits up better than larger goals that she may or may not achieve.


	34. Chapter 34 - Promise

Booth looked up when Sweets walked into the office at daybreak. He was still angry with the man, angrier than he could put into words, but he put that aside for the moment. The Squints believed him. That was enough.

Booth sat at Bones' empty desk in her office. In fact, it wasn't even her office anymore. After Booth found her, he promised himself he'd change her mind about that, too. "Where's Hodgins?"

"He took Angela home for a couple hours sleep. He figured it would be a long day."

Booth nodded and tapped a couple of keys on Bones's keyboard. A password protected screensaver came up and Booth entertained himself for a few moments trying to guess her password. He swallowed thickly when his name unlocked her computer.

Sweets came forward and held out a folder. Booth looked at him a moment before taking it from his hand.

"What's this?"

"It's a request for several days vacation. I took the liberty to fill it out for you. Just sign it so I can send it in."

Booth looked at it a moment, the words swimming in front of his eyes. Reaching for a pen, he signed the form and returned it to the folder. Rubbing his hands over his face, he glanced at Sweets. "Listen," he began.

"No," Sweets said. "You listen. I may think this is all some manifestation of your feelings for Dr. Brennan. But," he continued, despite the look in Booth's eyes. "But, it's just as clear that I"m the only one to feel that way. So, I'll do what everyone else is doing and take what you're seeing at face value. Go, find her, even if part of the reason I hope you're wrong is I really don't want Dr. Brennan trapped on a mountain."

"Me, either," Booth agreed. "But I still expect an apology when we find her on a mountain with a broken right leg."


	35. Chapter 35 - Crawl

After the first tree, Brennan took a short break to rest. Her leg ached and she was tired. But after thirty minutes, she picked another tree as her goal and made her way to that one, too.

After that tree, she tried to crawl a short distance up the hill. But it was harder to protect her broken leg that way and it wasn't long before it caught on a fallen branch. The pain had her gasping for air before she flipped to her back again.

She wondered if the break wasn't much worse than what her fingers had told her. It seemed to be significantly more painful than a broken leg should be. Of course, she was also hungry, thirsty, dirty, and exhausted.

Distances that she used to cross in seconds now took minutes or hours. She had to frequently check behind her to make sure she was going in the desired direction. Several times she moved into what she felt was a secure position, only to slide several feet back down the hill. Two arms forward, and one arm back, or whatever that saying Booth had used once was.

The sun was high in the sky when Brennan took a break to eat a little food and drink some water. There were no clouds and she was thankful for that, even if the sun burned her skin. She was much more likely to die of hypothermia if it started to rain.

While she ate, she turned and contemplated her path up the hill. It was the last six to ten feet that worried her. There would be no way to slide backwards up that part. She would have no choice but attempt to pull herself up and over using the strength in her arms and her one good leg.


	36. Chapter 36 - Hell

Angela and Hodgins returned to the Jeffersonian just after eight that morning. "Any word?" Angela asked as soon as they were through the door.

Booth shook his head. "Nothing yet, but it's still early. We have a better chance of seeing her car in the daylight. I was just about to go make some calls and try to get an update." Booth tried to maintain a hopeful tone in his voice, but he knew that time was not their friend.

Angela's face fell. Hodgins reached out and took her hand squeezing it gently. "We will find her."

"I know, honey," she responded, giving him a reassuring smile. "I just want it to be sooner rather than later."

Booth smiled at the two of them and hoped he'd get the chance to squeeze Bones' hand soon.

"We should draw straws while we wait," Angela suggested.

The two men looked at each other and then at her with confused expressions on their faces. "Are we trying to win a prize?" Hodgins asked finally.

"Kind of," she admitted. "The winner gets to be the first person to give Brennan hell for scaring us like this."

"No straws," Booth decreed. "I'm going first."

Angela gave him a knowing smile. "I figured it would be something like that." She hesitated, then asked the question that had been bothering her since she left the night before. "Have you told Hannah about what's going on?"

"Hannah took a flight out this morning," Booth answered. There was no emotion in his voice. Regret didn't seem appropriate, but neither did happiness, so he worked to keep his voice level. "She won't be coming back."


	37. Chapter 37 - Grin

They all heard Cam coming quickly up the hallway and turned toward the sound in anticipation.

"They've got her car," she announced as she rounded the corner. "Angela, we need the map."

Angela practically ran to her work station to pull it up. Cam approached and pointed to an area just off one of the yellow roads.

"A patrol spotted it here, last night," she said, pointing at a campground labeled on the map. It was in the middle of the 'dead zone' on Angela's map.

"Last night?" Booth asked. "Why didn't he call it in?"

Cam rolled her eyes at his tone of voice. "Before you go hunt him down and kill him, the BOLO wasn't issued until late. The car was parked in an area that people camp in. When he saw the notice, he went back to be sure before he called it in. The car is still locked and loaded with boxes. He didn't touch it. They are leaving it where it is until we arrive."

"Okay," Angela said, plotting the new information on the map. "Now thanks to Booth, we know she was higher up on the mountain. She only had about four hours to hike before her accident," Angela said more to herself than to the group.

A few more clicks and a newer, much smaller circle appeared on the map. Angela also added a topographic map to show elevation. Eliminating low points, she turned to them with a grin. "We know where to start looking."


	38. Chapter 38 - Hug

"I'm going," Booth announced. "I have to run to my office for different clothes and I'm leaving. Text me the address, please Ang."

Hodgins looked at his wife and she nodded in agreement. "Not alone, you're not," Hodgins argued.

"I don't have time to wait," Booth said.

"Booth, you said yourself she's hurt. If she really fell off the side of that mountain, you're going to need climbing gear and help to get her back to the car. You go get the clothes. I'll get the gear."

Hodgins didn't wait for an answer. He gave Angela a hug and kiss, quietly promising her he'd bring her best friend home.

"You'll be out of range of cell phones when you find her," Cam reminded him. "I'll go get the first aid kit we keep in the office. I"ll give it to Hodgins as he leaves."

As Booth watched his friends walk away, he was struck by the family Bones had built around her. She's always felt like she was alone in the world, but right here were the people that loved her the most. The people who stayed up all night trying to find her when no one else would. The family who believed in visions from an ex-sniper who'd messed up a lot of things lately.

Shaking his head at the amazing way things worked out, Booth headed to get what he needed to save Bones. And himself, because if she didn't survive, neither would he.


	39. Chapter 39 - Burn

It was early when Brennan resigned herself to spending another night on the mountain. No matter how she tried to shut off every part of her brain, the logical side calculated just how far she still had to go and how long it would take to get there. The emotional side just wanted to sit and cry for a while. She ignored them both.

Her arms burned from the repetitive motion of climbing the steep slope. She discovered she was resting more frequently now, as hunger and thirst began to slow down her reflexes.

In the last few minutes, she'd turned herself so she was facing uphill, her back against a tree. Brennan knew it would be good for her broken leg, now sitting above her on the hill. It appeared more swollen than yesterday, and she worried about permanent damage to nerves and vessels.

Above her, she saw the last ten feet of the climb and was finally forced to acknowledge that she wouldn't be able to climb it without help. She did cry a little then, accepting that if she was to get off this mountain alive, someone was going to have to find her. Her survival now depended on Booth.

And when he saved her - she refused to consider the alternative - then what? Would he walk away from Hannah for her? He wasn't the type. Would she fight Hannah for him? While Brennan was sure she could take her in a physical match-up, she wasn't sure she could compete with Hannah any other way.

Sighing heavily, Brennan realized she had more problems than she had answers.


	40. Chapter 40 - Kiss

Hodgins was packing his climbing gear when Angela found him, her arms full of gear of her own.

"Wow, babe," Hodgins said. His eyes widened as he moved to take some of the items from her arms. "Where did you get all of this stuff?"

Angela smiled. "I beg, borrowed, and stole most of it," she admitted with no trace of guilt. "I got a tent you can use. It's only one person, but if Brennan is really hurt it might take you a while to get back to the car."

She pulled another item out of the pile. "Here's a sleeping bag, also for Brennan, some blankets and some food you can carry up the mountain with you. I also found a couple of packs you and Booth can use to put everything in."

"And you begged and borrowed most of this stuff?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, I stole most of it actually. You'd be surprised what's hidden in the nooks and crannies around here."

"No, I probably wouldn't," he said. He thought of all of the things he'd stolen from various departments over the years.

She looked over at his gear. "Do you have what you need?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I do. I mean we don't have much to go on here, other than these visions. I'm assuming she didn't fall far, if all she has is a broken leg, but…" he trailed off, not giving voice to the other scenarios that had been running through his head.

Angela placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him gently. "I'm trusting Booth on this one. If he says all she has is a broken leg and a cut on her head, that's all she has. You just have to find her before she gets more than that."


	41. Chapter 41 - Mute

Booth stared in mute horror as Hodgins finished loading the car with the gear Angela provided. "Are we going to get arrested for stealing all of this stuff?" He played nervously with the items in his pocket, eager to get started.

Hodgins slammed the back of the SUV closed. "It's going to take us three or four hours to get to where her car is. Another couple of hours to hike where she fell and find her." _If we're lucky_.

Booth nodded, his eyes darkening. "We're spending at least one night up there," he concluded.

"I think so," Hodgins agreed. "And if her leg is broken badly, we are going to have to take turns carrying her down the mountain." If they could get her back on the right side of the cliff without calling in more help.

"I'll carry her," Booth said. His voice made it clear he would consider no other options. Hodgins opened his mouth to argue anyway when Cam approached them.

"Here," she said, handing them a sheet of paper. "After you find her, if you come back out by her car, this route will get you to a cell phone signal the fastest. I also wrote the address to the nearest hospital on there if you choose to drive her yourself."

Booth took the paper and shoved it into his pocket. "I'll thank you when I get back."

This time she shook her head. "No, Seeley, you'll thank me when you call to tell us she's safe."


	42. Chapter 42 - Suffocate

When she realized she couldn't climb that last ten feet alone, Brennan considered what might happen if no one found her.

She could just close her eyes and sleep. As her body became weaker from lack of food and water, she would sleep more and more. Eventually, she wouldn't wake up. Considering it carefully, Brennan didn't think it sounded like a bad way to go.

But the emotional side of her brain, that part she couldn't shut off anymore, didn't want to die. And quite frankly, the logical side didn't either. But neither side could come up with a good way to climb that last ten feet of mountain.

Brennan stared at the cliff face, eating part of a protein bar. There was only one left, but she didn't worry about that now. Right now, the main problem she had was that last ten feet.

There were few handholds that she could discern at this distance. No sure spots to hook her hands while she moved her one good leg. If she lost her grip and fell, she probably wouldn't stop falling until she was at the bottom of this stupid mountain.

But Booth wouldn't give up on her. Hadn't given up on her when she was suffocating in that car with Hodgins. She hadn't given up on him when he was trapped on that exploding ship. Their partnership had never allowed them to give up on each other.

So she thoughtfully chewed the last of the protein bar and thought about what she faced. Closing her eyes, she pictured what she had to do and tried to come up with a way to do it.


	43. Chapter 43 - Punch

"Maybe you should let me drive," Hodgins offered for the third time as they left the city. "I think there's a few cars you haven't run off the road yet."

Booth lifted the corner of his mouth in a smile, thinking about some of the driving he and Bones had done together over the years. In response, he punched the gas a little harder, taking their speed to revoke your driver's license levels.

"Okay, then, I guess not." Hodgins pulled his belt a little tighter and tried not to picture his child growing up without a father.

Letting his foot off the gas, Booth stole a quick glance at Hodgins. "Don't worry. I won't kill us."

"I wasn't worried at all," he said with a nervous laugh.

"Sure you were," Booth said.

Five minutes later, Hodgins was just starting to breath again when Booth muttered a curse and slammed on the brakes in the middle of the highway. Horns honked and cars swerved around them.

"A sheer rock face," Booth said, not seeing Hodgins or the road anymore. "Too tall for her to climb." He stopped talking and seeing the road again managed to maneuver the vehicle to the shoulder.

Slamming his hand into the steering wheel, he turned and met Hodgins' concerned eyes. "If she tries to climb that rock face with a broken leg, it won't end well. She won't make it. She'll fall."

Booth turned and watched the traffic on the highway speed by them. With a sheepish look in his eyes he admitted, "You might be right. Maybe you should drive."


	44. Chapter 44 - Exile

"What did you do with Sweets after you took him from the office?" Booth asked when they were on the road again.

"Hauled him down to limbo, tied him up and left him there for a little while," Hodgins explained with a straight face.

Booth raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"No," Hodgins said with a smirk. "I exiled him to his office and told him to do something useful like filling out paperwork."

"That explains why he filled out that vacation request," Booth said.

"Wow! He actually found something useful to do. I'm actually kind of impressed."

Booth grimaced and looked out the window. "I said some things to him I probably shouldn't have."

Hodgins nodded and kept his eyes on the road. "Like admitting you're still in love with Dr. B.?"

"I was thinking about the numerous times I threatened to shoot him. But that's another one. One we are not going to talk about. We are not sharing our feelings on this ride." Telling Sweets that earlier had been one of his bigger mistakes of the day.

"I know what you're going through, man. When I was in that car, it was the first time I admitted to being in love with Angela. Stress can do crazy things to a guy."

Booth grunted noncommittally, but didn't respond. What he had left to say, he would say to Bones and no one else. He'd spent years keeping what he thought were private feelings, well, private. He had no intention of changing that now.

To bad what he thought was private had been painfully obvious to everyone around him for weeks.


	45. Chapter 45 - Plead

If Brennan believed in God, or Hell, she would have considered talking to one of them. She could plead for her life. Brennan wondered if Booth's God would give her another chance if she asked for one. But since she didn't believe in Him anyway, asking seemed kind of pointless.

When her eyes were closed, she thought for a moment she could see Booth riding in a car, looking for her. At one point she actually reached out her hand to touch him, but dropped it feeling foolish. Still, the thought that he might be coming for her gave her comfort and strength.

And strength was what she needed. "I'm almost out of water and food," she said. Her voice was scratchy from disuse. "I still can't find a way to climb this rock face, and I'm probably going to die out here, alone."

Brennan closed her eyes, banging her head softly against the tree behind her. When she opened them again, Booth stood in front of her. "Great," she muttered. "I really am hallucinating this time."

Hallucination Booth tipped his head sideways, giving her the look that always set her teeth on edge. "I'm not giving up," she said to him shortly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I just can't figure out a way to climb up there."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, and she smiled. "Fine, I'll wait for you. But you better hurry up. I don't believe in ghosts, but you're the first person I'm going to haunt if I die."


	46. Chapter 46 - Strong

"Dr. B. is strong," Hodgins reassured Booth as they made the final turn toward where her car was parked. "I'm sure we'll find her still alive."

Booth pointed out the windshield, ignoring the comment. "There it is," he said. He unhooked his seatbelt.

"What 'til I stop the car," Hodgins cried, as Booth opened the door. "Geez, man, you aren't going to help either of us here if I run you over."

Booth tried to open the driver's door of Brennan's rental, but it was locked. Hodgins came up next to him and handed him a large rock. He shrugged at Booth's look. "It's what I would do."

The sound of the window breaking was loud in the silence of the forest. Inside was Brennan's cell phone. "Told you it was turned off," he said, throwing it on the passenger seat.

Hodgins looked over his shoulder. "Doesn't look like anything was touched in here. No map, either."

"I've been looking for one of those since this started. I thought you Squints were supposed to be logical," Booth said.

Hodgins looked offended. "We are logical."

"Logical people leave directions or clues there they're going in case something like this happens." Frustrated, Booth slammed the door closed, even if it seemed kind of pointless now with the broken window.

Walking slowly around the car, Booth spotted footprints leading toward the trees. Careful not to disturb them, Booth followed them. "She went in here," Booth said, pointing at the ground.

"Dude, how do you know that?" Hodgins said. He could see the footprints, but they certainly didn't appear to go as far as Booth indicated.

"Military training," Booth said as an explanation. "Let's load up. We're going hiking."


	47. Chapter 47 - Defenseless

It took longer than Booth wanted to pack everything they thought they might need. The sleeping bag and tent proved a little more difficult, but between the two of them, they figured out a way to attach them to the packs.

Booth led them into the forest, the trees closing in rather quickly. He noted how little of the sky he could see here and pointed it out to Hodgins. "We have to climb higher, where the trees are a little thinner."

Hodgins consulted a paper map and a compass he had brought with them. After a moment, he nodded. "We need to go that way more," he said pointing in a general direction. "This area gets a lot steeper that way."

Booth looked at the forest floor. He hadn't been able to find any other clear tracks after entering the trees, but he'd seen several things that indicated they were probably going the right direction.

It didn't take long for the two of them to start breathing harder as they climbed higher. They were forced to stop often to check the map. At one point, late in the day, Booth slapped a defenseless tree in frustration. "It's getting dark," he said simply when Hodgins looked up in surprise. "I wanted to find her before dark."

"I think we're getting close," Hodgins said, looking at the map one more time. "We're nearing the top of this climb. If she's not here, we'll have to wait until morning to pick another place to look."

"She's here," Booth said, refusing to consider any other options.


	48. Chapter 48 - Discover

Brennan discovered that if you sat quietly in the forest, you could hear things that you normally didn't notice. In Washington, you couldn't hear things one block over. Out here, it seemed you could hear forever, even if she knew that wasn't possible.

Evening was approaching when she heard the first sound that didn't fit in with the rest. She'd already counted several different bird species based on differences in their call, and had collected a small pile of sticks and leaves to show to Hodgins when she got back to the lab. The small activities kept her mind active, even when her body couldn't be.

She was sorting leaves by their similarities, when she heard glass break. It was definitely far away, but Brennan was sure the sound came from the direction of her car. She considered yelling, but the lack of water made her voice rusty and weak; she was sure it would not cover the distance.

But the sound was enough to get her heart rate up. She hoped it was Booth breaking the window to her rental car, and not some kid looking to steal her stuff. There wasn't anything in there that would help Booth find her, but if he was near the car, that was a good sign.

Angela and the rest of the team were smart. If they'd figured out where her car was, they might have figured out what direction to look. Angela would have at least plotted likely locations based on the timing of made and missed phone calls.

More hopeful than she'd been in hours, she closed her eyes to get rid of any extra stimulus and just listened. If Booth started to yell, she wanted to make sure she heard him do it.


	49. Chapter 49 - Action

Booth had always been a man of action. Sure he had a desk and an office, but he did some of his best work in the field.

Out here, in the forest, he was in his element. Walking through the trees, looking for signs that Bones had passed this way, reminded him of his days in the military. When he was a sniper, patience and secrecy had been the goal. He'd worked hard to be invisible. The experience helped him see what he needed to see now.

Booth motioned to Hodgins and waited for the man to come up next to him. He pointed at the ground and waited until Hodgins saw what he saw.

"A footprint," Booth explained unnecessarily. He pointed up ahead a few feet. "And there's a scuff mark. She definitely came this way."

Hodgins took out a bottle of water and took a healthy drink before handing it to Booth. While Booth was drinking his share, Hodgins pulled out the map. "The top of the mountain is not far ahead. If she's up there, we can probably start yelling. She might be able to hear us."

Booth nodded his agreement. Silently, he sent a prayer to whoever might be listening - God, fate or even the Easter Bunny - that Bones would be close enough and conscious enough to answer.

As Hodgins refolded the map, Booth took a deep breath. With too many emotions to identify, he shouted one word into the silence of the forest. "Bones!"


	50. Chapter 50 - Sport

Angela and Cam tried to keep themselves busy and not watch the clock. It was harder said than done. They found themselves doing little things in separate offices, and then drifting into each other's area to try and pass the time.

It was approaching the time they figured Booth and Hodgins would be arriving in the area of Brennan's car when Sweets walked into Cam's office to see the two women sitting there. He had changed from a suit into jeans and a sport shirt.

"Unusual office wear," Cam commented as he sat down.

"I'm on my way to a date with Daisy. I just wanted to see how everyone was doing."

"We're fine, Sweets," Angela reassured him. "Booth and Hodgins are on there way to go find Brennan."

Sweets slumped down into a chair. "Do you think they'll find her tonight?"

Angela and Cam looked at each other in surprise. "Do you actually believe Booth now?" Cam asked.

"I've had some time to think about what was going on. Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan have always had a relationship that seems to defy explanation. This could be a new and interesting development." Sweets looked down at the floor, considering his next words. "I don't want her to be on that mountain."

"None of us do," Angela said softly. "But if Booth says that's where she is, that's where she is."

"No doubt or question in your mind?" Sweets asked.

"When it comes to Booth, no," Cam said. "If there's one thing he's always been sure of, it's Brennan."

"Do you think Dr. Brennan is as sure of Booth?" Sweets asked.

"Yes," Cam said. "I think he's the only thing in her life she's ever been sure of."


	51. Chapter 51 - Memorable

Hodgins and Booth paused to listen, and heard nothing but birds singing in the darkening forest. Night was approaching quickly and Booth knew if they didn't find anything soon, he and Hodgins would have to set up camp for the night. Refusing to give up, Booth climbed past the footprints and scuff mark. Ten feet more and he stopped to yell again.

This time Hodgins added his voice, the sound twice as loud as before. Still, there was no answer.

It wasn't until the third yell, when Booth could see the top of the mountain in the distance, that he thought he heard something out of place. It was almost drowned out by the sound of singing birds, and Booth was afraid his mind was playing tricks on him.

Holding his hand out, he and Hodgins stopped where they stood. Booth dropped his pack behind him, wanting to be ready to run if he was right. Hodgins did the same and together the two men stood at attention, listening for the smallest sound.

When the sound wasn't repeated, Booth motioned for Hodgins to go one way while Booth worked his way further up the mountain. The trees were thinner here and the rock cliff ahead looked like it was recently broken.

Five steps they walked, before silent communication had them both stopping and yelling again. Again, both men paused to listen.

Booth had a lot of good memories in his life, the birth of his son, meeting Bones, but he knew this day would be as memorable as any of them. This was the day Bones' very alive, very tired voice answered him back from the forest.


	52. Chapter 52 - Die

Booth tore up the mountain, only to have Hodgins practically tackle him before he took three steps.

"What the hell?" he cried. Booth tried to throw the man off, but Hodgins refused to let go. Finally, Booth stopped and looked at him.

Booth's face had Hodgins taking a step back before he spoke. "Slow down," Hodgins said. "The rocks have already fallen here once. If you fall off, the chances are good you won't be as lucky as Dr. B. I have no intention of calling Angela to tell her one of you decided to die up here."

Booth nodded and slowed to a trot, rather than a sprint. The closer he got to the edge, the clearer her tracks were. The dirt here was scuffed, the break in the rock fresh. "Keep talking, Bones," he called. "I need to hear your voice." _I don't ever want to stop hearing your voice._

He was approaching the cliff, when a pebble appeared from below and landed at the edge. A second followed it and then a third. Booth couldn't help but smile.

Inching his way to the edge, he looked over and saw Bones sitting with her back against a tree. She was looking around her for more pebbles and hadn't seen him yet.

"Hey, Bones," he called to get her attention. The relief was almost enough to drive him to his knees. She was alive. Hurt, not yet safe, but alive.

Brennan turned her head slowly, as if she didn't believe he was really standing there. Her eyes widened more when Hodgins stepped up next to Booth.

"That's it," she said in a very hoarse voice. "I definitely need food and water if I'm hallucinating the both of you now."

Brennan realized she might not be hallucinating after all when relief, amusement, and anger ran through Booth's eyes. "Are you guys really here?" she finally asked.

"Yeah," Hodgins said when Booth didn't answer. "We're here."


	53. Chapter 53 - Missing

Booth lowered himself slowly over the edge with Hodgins' help. The second man stayed on top, readying a place for them to spend the night.

Brennan was still leaning against the tree, but her head was slumped toward her chest when Booth got to her. "Hey, baby," he said when he was next to her. "Are you still with me?"

If she heard the baby comment, she didn't react. Slowly she raised her head and looked at Booth. She jumped a little when he touched her forehead. "I'm still here."

"Here," he said, handing her a bottle of water. She took it from him greedily, but drank from it slowly to keep from getting sick. It would take her body time to adjust to food and water again.

"When did you figure out I was missing?" she asked.

Booth sat down next to her. "When you fell off the cliff," he admitted.

She looked at him with confusion. "There's no way you could know when I fell off the cliff, Booth," she pointed out in the scientific voice he loved.

He ran his hand over his chin, realizing it had been quite some time since he shaved. "Could we talk about that later, Bones?"

She looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but nodded. After a moment, she leaned toward him and he caught her in his arms. He was warm and solid and she leaned into him wearily.

"Are you okay, Bones?" he asked. His voice was edging toward panic.

She nodded into his chest. "Tired," she mumbled finally. "I couldn't figure out how to get up that mountain by myself."

He pulled her tighter into his arms. Her head was tucked under his chin, right where he figured it belonged. "Just rest now, Bones. You don't have to figure everything out right now. For once, just let me take care of it for you."


	54. Chapter 54 - Luck

After a moment, Brennan twisted away from him, trying to get to her pack.

"Hold on," Booth said. Seeing what she was trying to do, Booth grabbed for her pack.

Brennan ignored him and continued to twist and turn trying to get the pack in front of her. "I just need to get something."

"Bones," he said, his voice sharper this time. The tone had her turning to look at him. "Could you just sit still? I'll get your pack for you if you just give me a second."

"You're angry with me," she said. She waited with her hands in her lap while he unhooked her bag.

"Yeah, Bones, I'm angry with you," Booth admitted, setting the pack in front of her.

Brennan grabbed the last protein bar from the bag and unwrapped it slowly. "I didn't mean to make you angry with me. That wasn't my intention," she said between bites.

"I know it wasn't, Bones." Booth felt the weight of the last twenty-four hours settling on his shoulders. "It's only luck that kept you alive."

"I don't believe in luck." Brennan ate the last of the protein bar and put the empty wrapper back in her bag.

"You apparently don't believe in logic either." The look in her eyes was hard when he held up his hand. "Can we fight about this after we get you off this mountain?"

"I don't want to fight, but I'm willing to postpone the discussion until later."

Booth nodded and looked at her leg. He noticed immediately it was her right one. Sweets owed him an apology.

"What?" Brennan asked at the amused expression on his face.

He shook his head. "I'll explain that later, too."


	55. Chapter 55 - Rescue

It was fully dark when Hodgins and Booth rescued Brennan from the wrong side of the cliff. Her cries of pain when they accidentally bumped her broken leg made Booth clench his jaw tight.

"Why didn't you call people to help you?" Brennan asked. She was sitting near the fire they'd started, enjoying the warmth on her skin.

The two men looked at each other and shrugged. "We weren't sure how to explain what we knew," Booth finally answered. Sighing, he sat near her and waited for the inevitable questions.

But she surprised him by not asking a single one. Instead, she slumped against him. Ignoring the warning bells in his head, he wrapped an arm around her. "You need to get some rest, Bones," Booth said.

Brennan looked at the tent and at the two men, embarrassed to find herself tearing up. Hodgins noticed, and made some excuse to walk away.

Booth pulled her tighter against him, careful to avoid her broken leg. "What is it, Bones?" he asked gently.

Brennan knew she should pull away, but couldn't muster the energy to do it. And if she was honest with herself, she didn't want to. "Logically, I know you'll be outside the tent, but…"

"But," he encouraged, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Her tears had always hurt him, even when he wasn't the cause.

"But I can't be in there all by myself. Not while I'm still up here. I'll feel like I'm over that cliff, all by myself again." She tried to pull away, but couldn't escape his grip. "It's silly, I know. I'll be fine."

Her admission of need almost broke him. Soberly, Booth nodded and looked at their limited supplies. "We'll open the sleeping bag and cover up with blankets. I'll stay next to you. You won't be alone."

Hodgins reappeared and set up a place of his own. "Angie's not going to be happy when she hears we didn't use the tent," Hodgins said.


	56. Chapter 56 - Abort

"I think we should abort the whole plan of getting all this gear back off the mountain," Hodgins whispered after Bones fell asleep.

Booth listened, but didn't respond. He was too tired to keep his eyes open, much less worry about gear he cared nothing about. And now, his very warm, very alive partner was lying on a blanket with him, close enough to touch. Any other time, the temptation to reach out would have been too much.

Tonight, he was too tired to even think about it.

Hodgins didn't say anything after that, but he watched Brennan for a time before rolling over and closing his eyes. His wife would be over the moon that her best friend appeared to be in decent shape, and he looked forward to calling her the next day and letting her know.

Exhausted, Booth also watched Brennan sleep. He counted breaths to make sure she was breathing evenly, unable to believe she was as okay as she appeared to be.

Her leg was beyond any of their skills and Bones decided it was best to leave it alone, until x-rays and doctors could tell her how badly she'd injured it. After hearing Bones' explanation on where the brightly colored cord came from, Booth planned on telling Parker just as soon as he could how important that bracelet turned out to be.

Giving in to the temptation to touch her, Booth brushed some of the matted hair from her face. He was relieved that she appeared to have no other injuries than those he saw in his visions.

As he closed his eyes, Booth acknowledged that Hodgins was right. Anything other than food and water would be left behind. Later, when everyone was settled, the gear could be retrieved.

The only thing that mattered was getting Bones off the mountain.


	57. Chapter 57 - Possessed

After a night of sleep, and more food and water, Brennan was feeling stronger the next morning, but still tired. She sat on the blankets and watched as Hodgins and Booth decided what they were taking and what was being left behind.

Booth was angrier that morning, as relief to finding her okay gave way to other emotions he wasn't ready to deal with yet. How dare she come up here by herself and put herself in danger? Did she have any idea what she was risking?

"I still don't understand what possessed you to climb all the way up here by yourself," he finally said. "You were supposed to go straight to Boston according to Angela. That was the deal."

She pressed her lips together, not sure how to answer. Booth took it as a sign she wasn't going to answer and turned away from her again. Sighing, Brennan started sorting items near her sleeping bag.

Hodgins noticed what she was doing and knelt next to her. "There's probably still a pile of stuff near the tree where I was sitting," she admitted.

He looked at her. "Did you know I was coming to get you?" He stirred the pile with a finger, looking at the various things she'd gathered there.

"No, of course not." She looked past him, toward Booth, who had his back toward her. "But we'd always rescued each other from anything. I didn't figure that would stop now."

"it must have taken a lot of faith not to give up that first night," he said, getting to his feet.

Brennan's eyes didn't leave the man standing with his back turned. "I don't believe in faith. I believe in Booth."


	58. Chapter 58 - Graveyard

"There's no way you can carry me all the way down this mountain," Brennan said as Booth was settling her in his arms.

What they didn't need was left in a neat pile in the trees. There had been no sign of other people since Brennan had arrived days ago, and they weren't worried the items would disappear. Still, Hodgins hoped they could retrieve them quickly, so he didn't have to explain to the Jeffersonian why he'd taken them to begin with.

"I'll carry you," he said calmly.

After that, there was very little talking.

Hodgins lead the way, making sure Booth's path was clear. He had to not only watch his footing, but also make sure he wasn't jostling Bones too much. Her broken leg was tucked against him, and Booth protected it as much as he could, but it was still uncomfortable for her.

But Brennan never complained. Several times, though, Booth stopped when the pain was obviously too much for her and tears ran down her cheeks.

Booth thought about all the times she had scared him or broken his heart. He wondered if there was a graveyard filled with pieces of himself somewhere out there. Each piece with its own headstone, detailing the date and just what she'd done to him that time.

But the thought was morbid, and he chased it away. Instead, he sent up a prayer of thanks that Bones was still alive and well enough that it didn't appear to him she was in any danger of dying. At least until he killed her for scaring him like this.


	59. Chapter 59 - Trail

"Why couldn't you have hiked along a trail?" Booth asked her when they got back to the cars. She was settled sideways in the backseat of his SUV with her leg stretched out in front of her.

Brennan was resting with her eyes closed, but opened them to look at him. "I think this is a conversation we need to have later," she said, closing her eyes again.

Booth was driving. He figured since she was safe, the danger of him having any more visions was past. Hodgins navigated, using the directions from Cam. Since Bones seemed stable, Booth was driving them to the nearest hospital, rather than wait for help to get to them.

Hodgins looked over at Booth, and back at the map. "You need to breathe," Hodgins said, hoping he wasn't risking his life by saying anything at all. "I don't think she wants to have these conversations in front of me."

Looking down at his hands, Booth noted his knuckles were white from his grip on the steering wheel. Consciously, he forced his hands to open.

Booth looked in the mirror for the hundredth time since they'd arrived at his SUV. Bones hadn't seemed surprised when she saw the broken window, but Booth hadn't asked her about it at the time. It seemed like a safer topic.

"I heard it," she replied after he'd asked the question. "You know there are reports of explosions being heard 200 miles away from the source. You forget that sometimes, living in a city."

"Why didn't you yell?"

"I was pretty much out of water," she said.

Booth's hands clenched around the steering wheel again. He looked in the mirror to find her eyes. While tired, they were calm and it was enough to have him releasing his death grip on the steering wheel.

Her explanation was loud in the silence of the car. "And I was terrified you wouldn't hear me."


	60. Chapter 60 - Walk

They took five minutes to pull over at the first cell phone signal, so Hodgins could call Angela.

Booth figured they were still an hour from the hospital. Brennan woke when the SUV stopped and was sitting in the back seat looking around groggily.

"Where are we?" she asked. There was nothing outside of the vehicle but trees.

Booth couldn't remember the last time they'd passed another car. He shrugged. "I don't really have any idea. Cam gave us some directions and Hodgins has the map."

"Oh. As long as you know where we're going. I'll be glad to see something besides trees. I never thought I'd miss concrete."

"Here," Booth said, handing her some food. "You should eat something while you're awake."

Brennan took the food from him, but set it in her lap. "I am sorry you had to come rescue me." she said softly.

Booth twisted around in the seat. "You definitely keep my life interesting, Bones. We'll talk about it later."

She nodded and opened up the packaged food in her lap. "Do you think we'll have time to talk later? Hannah will be waiting for you."

Booth's eyes darkened, and she paused before taking the next bite. "Hannah's gone. She won't be coming back."

Hodgins picked that moment to walk back to the SUV and get in. "Angela was quite happy to hear that you're still alive, Dr. B."

"Of course she is," Brennan answered, pushing the rest of the uneaten food away from her. She turned back to Booth. "Did Hannah die?"


	61. Chapter 61 - Plunge

"You owe Booth an apology," Angela said to Sweets.

"They found her?" Cam asked, breaking out into a smile. "How is she?"

"Pretty much as Booth said she would be. Broken right leg, and a cut over her forehead. They are driving her to the hospital."

Sweets ran his hand through his hair. He'd canceled his dinner with Daisy, choosing instead to wait at the Jeffersonian. "So she really plunged off the side of a cliff?"

"Yes, she really fell," Angela answered.

"Damn," he muttered. Sweets wondered if he could write a paper on this, or if he could somehow include it in his book. Of course, getting the two people involved to talk about what happened would be almost impossible.

"I don't think Booth or Dr. Brennan would be pleased to know you were thinking about them like bugs in an experiment," Cam admonished him.

Cam wondered what nerve she had hit when the blood drained from Sweets' face. "How do you…what do you think?" he stuttered, trying to understand. He ran his hands through his hair again and tried to put it into words. "How is this even possible?" he finally asked.

Angela looked at him closely. "Are you looking for some sort of - explanation - for what happened?"

"Well, aren't you?" Sweets cried. "I don't understand how you can be so calm about this. He had visions of Dr. Brennan that were better than close. They were perfect. No psychic can claim that."

Angela laughed. "He's not psychic, Sweets. And I don't have the word doctor in front of my last name. I don't need explanations, or reasons, or words with fancy endings. I believe in magic, and faith, and miracles."

"Is that was this was?" he demanded. "Magic or some sort of miracle?"

Angela shrugged. "Does it matter what you call it? Booth found Brennan. Why isn't that enough for you? Not everything can be quantified or tied up in a neat little string with pretty words. Sometimes, no explanation has to be enough."


	62. Chapter 62 - Jump

Booth blinked at Brennan. "Wait, what?" he asked.

Hodgins looked at Booth. "Hannah is dead?"

"That's what he just said," Brennan said. She sat in the back seat studying Booth. "Of course, I expected him to be more upset if something like that happened."

Hodgins eyes darted between the two of them. "Did her plane crash?" he finally asked.

Booth leaned his forehead against the steering wheel. "I should have just jumped," he muttered to himself.

Finally, he lifted his head and turned so he could see the back seat. "Why would you ask me something like that, Bones?"

She tilted her head. "You said she was gone and wasn't coming back. My father said that to me once when a cat died. I figured you were just trying to break it to me gently."

Hodgins laughed, and tried unsuccessfully to cover it with a cough. "I'll just," he said, pointing outside. He was calling Angela back. This story was too good to wait.

"Bones, Hannah isn't dead. At least I don't think she is," Booth explained. "She's gone and she's not coming back, but she's not dead as far as I know."

"Oh. So you two aren't together anymore?" she asked finally. "But I thought you were happy,"

"Yeah, so did I," Booth said. "We were, it's just, we had different goals," he finished finally.

Brennan just looked at him, trying to process what he was telling her. "So you and Hannah aren't together anymore?" she asked again.

"No," Booth said shortly, looking desperately out the window for Hodgins.

"Because you had different goals?"

"Yes, Bones," he said with a touch of impatience. When he didn't want the man around, he would't go away, when he wanted Hodgins back he was nowhere to be found. "I wanted forever, she wanted to go back to a war zone. Those two things aren't really compatible."


	63. Chapter 63 - Self-Conscious

They arrived at the hospital hours later and Brennan was rushed into an exam room. Booth followed her, leaving Hodgins with the SUV.

One of the nurses shot a look at Booth and then at her. "Who is he?" she asked.

"Partner," Booth answered, at the same moment Brennan replied, "Ex-partner."

Booth tilted his head and gave her a look that clearly said that would be another thing they were talking about later. Brennan wondered if she should borrow a sheet of paper from the nurse and start a list.

"Go, Booth. Please," she said, suddenly self-conscious. "I really am okay."

Booth crossed the room to take her chin in his hands and tipped it toward him. For a moment she thought he was going to kiss her. "I'll be right outside if you need me," he promised.

Brennan didn't breathe again until he was out of her line of vision. Wearily, she leaned back against the pillow. "Ask your questions," she ordered the nurse.

Nodding, the nurse, Annie, according to her name tag, glanced at her clipboard again. "Your ex-partner," she said, hesitating on the description. There was nothing 'ex' about the two of them if the look in that man's eyes was any indication. "He said you fell about ten feet?"

"Yes, the rock broke beneath my feet. I fell, tumbled down the hill, and broke my lower leg when I hit a tree."

"How long were you out there before they found you?"

"Thirty-six hours," she determined. "I fell early in the morning and they found me late the next afternoon."

"So it's been almost two days since you fell? You're very lucky to be in the shape you are in."

"Yes," Brennan said, looking at the empty corner were Booth had stood. "I am."


	64. Chapter 64 - Suspicious

The nurse looked down at her clipboard again. "And you are sure you were up there by yourself? There wasn't anyone else with you at the time?"

Brennan's brow furrowed. "I don't know what you mean. I told you I fell. I was hiking alone when it happened."

The nurse met her eyes. "You seem like a smart woman. Too smart to do something like that."

Brennan's look turned suspicious. "What are you implying?"

"I'm implying that maybe that big guy who was just in here was up there with you. Maybe you had a disagreement…" she let her voice trail off, what she was thinking very clear.

"Are you saying, you think Booth pushed me off that cliff?" she asked, her voice rising in anger. "You don't believe that I was up there by myself?"

"I've seen these things before," the nurse said defensively.

"Get out!" Brennan yelled. "Get out." She pointed at the door and then crossed her arms over her chest.

Booth appeared in the doorway and the nurse scurried away. "Everything okay in here?" he asked. The nurse turned to glare at him before disappearing around a corner. "Should I go get her?"

Brennan pushed her damp hair out of her face. One of the nurses had tried to rinse more of the blood out of it for her. The cut on her forehead wasn't deep enough for stitches. "She implied you pushed me off the cliff," she related, the surprise clear in her voice.

Booth smiled, and Brennan's stomach flipped over. At least, that's what it felt like, even if it wasn't physically possible. "Were you defending me?"

She smiled back at him. "Of course I was," shocked that he might think she wouldn't defend him. "She shouldn't say things like that about you."


	65. Chapter 65 - Mistake

"I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it," Booth said, still smiling.

"I'm so tired," Brennan said suddenly, putting a forearm over her eyes. "I just want to go home."

Booth approached the bed and took her hand in his. "Go to sleep, Bones. I'll be right here when the doctor comes in."

She lifted her other arm from her eyes long enough to meet his. "Okay."

"Okay," Booth answered with a smile. He held her hand while her breathing slowed and she was clearly asleep. It was only short time later, when a young man Booth assumed was the doctor walked through the door.

Booth grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the corner of the room. "I don't want that nurse back in here."

"I gathered your girlfriend doesn't want her back in here either."

"She's not my -" Booth began, but stopped. What difference did it make?

The doctor laughed softly. "Sorry, my mistake," he said, his voice indicating he didn't think he'd made one. Flipping through the chart, his eyes focused on the patient. "We need to take her for x-rays, and I'd like to keep her overnight for observation depending on what they show. We'll have to set that leg, and if she needs surgery, we'll have to send her to Philadelphia. We don't have that kind of facility."

"She's very tired," Booth said, worried about how much she was sleeping.

"She had a rough couple of days. That's perfectly normal. Let me get some things started." Making a few notes, the doctor smiled at him reassuringly. "She's going to be fine."


	66. Chapter 66 - Complicated

"The doctor said the break isn't that complicated," Brennan explained, holding her x-rays up to the light. "And I'm pleased to say I agree with his findings. Six weeks in this cast, and I should be completely healed."

Brennan set the x-ray on her lap and looked over at Booth. "I don't really think it's necessary for me to stay overnight. I want to go home."

"Bones, you spent almost two days outside stuck on a mountain. I don't think one night in a hospital is going to hurt."

"Says the guy who gets to sleep in a hotel tonight."

Booth leveled a look at her. His brown eyes were determined. "'I'm not staying in a hotel tonight."

Shocked, Brennan started pulling at loose threads in the blanket. Booth was leaving her alone? Now that she was okay, she had time to think about them, again. And she thought, well, it didn't really matter what she thought. She was obviously wrong, again. "You're not?" she asked, not looking up. "Are you going back to Washington?"

The one person she trusted with her life, who'd just saved her life, was leaving her. What was it about her that made no one ever want to stay?

Booth laughed, but he didn't seem that amused. He waited until Brennan looked back up at him before responding. "You know, you might be the smartest woman I've ever known, but about me, well, you still miss a lot."

Brennan thought about what he'd said and tried to work her way through it. "Well, if you aren't going to a hotel and you aren't going back to Washington, the only place left to sleep is here." He wasn't leaving? No wonder she avoided emotions. They were harder to figure out than most of her anthropological studies.

"See, you are the smartest woman I've ever known." Booth dragged the chair over next to her bed and sat down. "I'll be right here, all night."


	67. Chapter 67 - Black Out

It was black out when Brennan's touch on his arm woke Booth. "Are you okay?" he asked, reaching for the light.

"Don't," she said. "Don't turn on the lights."

Booth stopped in mid-motion. "Are you sure?"

"I wanted to ask you a question." Her voice was soft, hesitant. She was never that way when asking questions about a case. But when it came to emotions, or to the two of them, it was harder for her to find the words. It was so much harder when she had to figure it out for herself.

"Okay," he said, sitting back down. "Go ahead."

Brennan licked her lips. "Where's Hodgins?"

Booth tilted his head, knowing that wasn't what she wanted to ask. "He's in a hotel across the street. After you get released in the morning, we're going to go back to Washington."

"What about the stuff we left behind?"

"Bones, did you really wake me up at," he looked at the clock on the wall, "two in morning to find out about Hodgins and those worthless things we left behind in the woods?"

"No, but now that you're awake, I find that I'm afraid to ask the questions. I don't want to make you mad." Brennan looked down and realized Booth was holding her hand. Rather than pull away, she squeezed it.

"I'm already mad at you, Bones."

"Oh. I thought maybe, since I was okay, you wouldn't be mad anymore."

Pleased that she hadn't pulled away from him, Booth ran his thumb over her knuckles. "You did some fairly foolish things, Temperance."


	68. Chapter 68 - Reveal

How much to reveal? How much to keep hidden? It was a dance they had been performing for years. Too much and one of them would run. Too little and the other was always left wanting more.

"Are you going to ask your question? Since I'm already mad, it shouldn't make any difference one way or the other." Booth was curious to see what questions she would ask. Would she go after what she wanted most, or avoid it as long as possible?

The lack of light made it impossible for Brennan to see his face. It was mostly shadows and darkness. Not being able to see him, made it easier to ask the questions, something she didn't understand. "Are you going to tell me how you knew I fell?"

Booth continued to rub her knuckles, wondering how much to reveal. Or how much she'd believe. Very little, if he knew her as well as he thought he did. "Did you really think that question would make me mad?"

"No, but I find I really want to know." She'd gone for avoidance then, if she didn't fear this question would anger him.

"I felt you fall."

"You mean after you saw where I was you knew how it felt to fall that far?" she asked, trying to understand what he was telling her.

"No. I felt you fell. As you fell. I was standing in Sweets' office when it happened."

Now she wished she'd let him turn the light on so she could see his face. To see if he believed what he was telling her. "I don't understand."

"Yeah, I didn't figure you would."

"Why do you do that?" she asked, suddenly angry at him now. She snatched her hand back from his.

"Do what?"

"I don't believe in faith, but you tell me you do, yet it's apparent sometimes that you don't have enough faith in me to tell me the truth. You assume that I won't believe you or won't understand you and you use it to avoid telling me things."


	69. Chapter 69 - Grotesque

"You want the truth?" Booth said, warming up to the topic now. If she wanted a fight, she'd get one. "I spent the last two days worrying that you were dying up on that mountain with some grotesque injury, all because you couldn't handle being in D.C. anymore."

The fight went out of Brennan as quickly as it had risen. "I explained to you why I couldn't be there anymore. I had valid reasons for leaving."

"Yeah," Booth agreed after a moment. "Maybe you did have valid reasons for leaving." He stood and walked to the end of the bed, where he began to pace back and forth. After all, hadn't they both been trying to move on for almost a year? He'd made his move with Hannah. She deserved to have a chance, too. "But you didn't have any valid reasons for climbing that mountain by yourself. Off trail and alone."

"I was trying to clear my head," Brennan said softly. "I was trying to find a way to start over again." She watched him pace for a moment, but the constant movement made her nervous. "Could you come sit back down, please. And turn on the light so I can see you?"

But he didn't do as she asked. "I think maybe the shadows are better for this conversation. Maybe it will be easier to say the things we want to say."

Brennan had thought the same thing only moments before, but she wasn't sure about that anymore. "Could you at least sit down then?"

When he still didn't comply, she sighed heavily. "Booth, I really would like to understand what you are trying to tell me. If you come and tell me the story, I'll try to listen with an open mind."

"Your mind's going to have to be open enough to drive a truck through," he said, but he sat back down next to her.


	70. Chapter 70 - Swim

"This isn't the first foolish thing I've done," Brennan said to him in the silence.

"Oh, yeah? Why don't I find that hard to believe?" he asked with a trace of sarcasm.

"I thought, that maybe if I told a story first, it would help you tell your story," she explained. "Was I wrong?"

He was sure her story would not help him in any way, but he was still intrigued enough to want to hear it. "Okay. What other foolish thing have you done?"

"I once went skinny dipping with a boyfriend in the middle of the night."

The image of a naked Bones swimming in the darkness entered Booth's head, and he shoved the thought away violently. He'd been right about her story not helping him, but it wasn't in a way he expected. "How is that foolish?" he asked, taking a deep breath.

"Well, I don't think it was probably good idea to swim in an unknown area in the middle of the night. Besides," she added, "he wasn't much of a catch anyway. Very dull young man."

Booth couldn't help it, he laughed out loud. How one woman could make him feel so many emotions in seconds was something he would never understand. He hoped she would never stop doing it.

"Are you going to tell your story now?" she wanted to know, her voice a little softer.

He regretted not turning on the light when she asked him to. "Are you sure you don't want to get some sleep? We'll have some time to kill before we go back to Washington."

"Booth," she said, her voice taking a warning tone, "tell the story."


	71. Chapter 71 - Resign

"I was in Sweets' office, the morning you fell," he began. Reaching over, he took her hand in his again. She looked at their hands and him curiously. He seemed to be holding her hand a lot suddenly. Brennan wondered what it meant.

"Why were you seeing Sweets?" she asked, wondering if he'd been there about her.

"I actually had a question about a very old case," he said. "I was trying to avoid anything that had to do with us."

"Oh. That must have been very difficult, avoiding anything that had to do with us. We worked on a lot of cases before I resigned."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I had to go back pretty far in the files. Anyway, when I walked into the office, Sweets was just starting to ask some shrinky questions when it felt like I was falling."

Brennan opened her mouth to offer an explanation, but closed it before she did, remembering her promise to listen with an open mind. Instead she asked, "Did you lose your balance?"

"I thought for a moment I did, then I thought I was hallucinating," he said. The feelings were still unsettling, even days later. "Then I was sure I was hallucinating when the sky and trees appeared in front of me."

Brennan thought back to her fall and admitted that he was describing what had happened pretty accurately.

"Then my right leg hurt so bad, I did lose my balance. I ended up on the floor."

"I'm pretty sure I screamed," Brennan said.

Booth looked up at her. That response was not what he was expecting. "When the room stopped spinning," he continued, "I knew you were in trouble."

"When the world stopped spinning, I knew I was in trouble, too."


	72. Chapter 72 - Nonsense

This time, Booth did reach behind her to turn on the light. He wanted to see her face. Bones was a horrible liar, and he could often tell what she was thinking just by looking at her. "Why aren't you telling me this is all nonsense?"

"I promised you I'd listen with an open mind. I want to hear the whole story before I make a decision about what happened."

Booth looked in her eyes and decided she was telling the truth. "I was in the shower when I saw the sky. And talking to Cam when I saw the stars."

"I saw both of those things, too."

He paused, more uncomfortable with the next part. She squeezed his hand to encourage him to keep going. "Then there was the dream."

Brennan's eyes widened, but she didn't offer an explanation to her reaction. "You were on the ground. I tried to ask you where you were, but you wouldn't answer me. No matter how many times I asked, you just wouldn't tell me where you were." The feeling of frustration he felt that night was just as fresh several days later. He pounded their clasped hands gently into the mattress.

"I couldn't hear you," she whispered.

"What?" Booth finally asked, shocked to silence.

Now, Brennan wished the light was off again. She just couldn't win this night. "I couldn't hear you," she repeated. "But it was only a dream."

"You told me you were going to try and climb the mountain. But you couldn't do it by yourself. That I needed to find you. Then you closed your eyes and I woke up."

"I don't remember any of that." She shook her head, as if the action would change what she was hearing, or remembering. "All I remember is you."


	73. Chapter 73 - Declare

"I only saw what you saw one more time, as we were driving here. You were looking up at that cliff. I was terrified you would try to climb it before I got to you."

He leaned back in the chair, turning off the light as he did. "Go to sleep, Bones. We'll finish this tomorrow."

But Brennan reached up and turned the light back on. "I think you're trying to avoid hearing what I think about what happened," she said.

Booth closed his eyes. "I didn't think I'd be able to avoid that," he said dryly. "You always tell me things whether I want to hear them or not."

"You're right. I thought you liked that about me. And I listened with my mind open like I offered to, so now it's my turn."

He liked everything about the woman in front of him. Why did she always question that? "Fine," he declared. "Let's hear it." Except he was pretty sure he could predict what she was going to say.

Brennan sighed. "I know that I have always been…rigid…in my beliefs. I believed that science would always be able to explain everything that happens in my life."

Booth opened his eyes and turned his head, curious where she was going with this. He'd caught the use of past tense on the word believe.

"But I saw you up on that mountain, too. And maybe I can explain it away by saying I was hurt and hungry, that you were a product of a mind trying to survive, but somehow it doesn't seem like the right answer."

"We've been through a lot together over the years, Booth. Kidnappings and shootings and almost dying. Sweets said that our friendship is what keeps us together. And in the last year, I've started to believe in things that I never thought existed."

 _Like love_.

She sighed. "And I believe in you. If you say it happened, Booth, it happened. Just this once, for you," she said with a little smile, "I won't try and find an explanation. I'll just believe."


	74. Chapter 74 - Corrupt

Brennan had turned the light off after her surprise statement, refusing to say another word. Booth had sat in the chair, listening to her breathe, unable to sleep.

Bones had never been one to let her beliefs be easily corrupted. She believed in science and facts and things she could touch with her hands.

But for him, she was willing to put all of it aside and trust what he was telling her. To believe in him and what he'd experienced. Booth wondered if she knew that that meant to him.

At first light, Booth went to find some coffee and stretch his legs. Sitting in that chair all night definitely had not been good for his back and he moved stiffly up the hallway. One of the nurses took pity on him, offering both the coffee and some aspirin.

He took them gratefully, and watched the sun rise outside the windows at the end of the hall. The hospital started to come to life around him; new nurses came and the night nurses left. Food was delivered and doctors started to make their rounds. Life continued, the same as it always had.

Hodgins called early, and Booth left with him to retrieve the items left on the mountain. It took little time, since they were familiar with the area and knew exactly where they were going. Brennan's rental was gone; towed back to Washington where she could retrieve her items later.

Booth arrived back in the room just as the doctor was leaving. "We're going to release her today," he said before Booth could ask. "There are no signs of infection or a concussion. She can follow up at home with regard to the leg."

Shaking his hand, Booth thanked him for all his help. "I'll make sure she gets what she needs."

The doctor smiled, thinking of the conversation the day before. "I have no doubt of that."


	75. Chapter 75 - Wrong

Brennan was signing the last of the discharge paperwork. She looked at him with relief in her eyes. "I am so ready to go home."

Booth looked pointedly at her crutches. "Do you think that's a good idea? How are you going to manage on a pair of crutches?"

The nurse watched the exchange with amusement. She'd heard about these two from the emergency room nurse and was pleased she'd have something to add to the gossip later.

Brennan swallowed her annoyance, waiting until the nurse stepped out for a moment. "Booth, I can take care of myself. I have a broken leg. You're just wrong about this. Logically I shouldn't have any trouble manipulating the crutches around my apartment."

"I'm not wrong. You shouldn't be by yourself when you're hurt. And I'm sick of hearing about your logic." Booth argued.

The nurse leaned against the door frame and watched the conversation with amusement.

"Yes, I will be by myself. You have your place and I have mine. That's the way it works." She glared at the nurse until she stepped back out of the room. "And there is nothing wrong with my logic."

"I'm not letting you out of my sight," he said coolly. "You leave for one day and manage to fall off a mountain." Booth had moved away from her and was retrieving a set of clothes for her from the closet in the room.

Brennan laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of the conversation. "Well, that's one thing I wasn't wrong about," she said, thinking about her time back on the mountain.

 _ **A/N: First the good news: We are 3/4 of the way through the story. Now the bad news: There will be no further updating until next Friday or Saturday due to a much needed vacation. Thanks for all of your reviews. I greatly appreciate them.**_


	76. Chapter 76 - Right

**_A/N: Hello Everyone! Thanks for waiting patiently for the rest of the story. I will be working on posting the rest through Monday. Here are a couple chapters to tide you over..._**

Hodgins was waiting for them when Brennan was finally released. They wheeled her to the SUV and she made a point of showing how well she could use the crutches. Sure it was only from the wheelchair to the car, but she still felt it showed she was right and Booth was wrong.

The ride to Washington was slow and awkward. Hodgins was afraid to say anything at all about the tension in the car, choosing instead to stare out the window at the passing landscape.

Booth used traffic as an excuse to not talk.

Brennan used the opportunity to watch Booth.

No matter how bad it was on top of that mountain, she'd never doubted that Booth would come for her. Was that belief, with no facts to back it up, any different from believing in his visions?

Probably not.

She had talked to Booth on that mountain. And he had accurately described what had happened to her as she fell. It was like he'd lived it with her.

And maybe he had. Maybe his visions and his faith and her belief in him were all intertwined in some sort of way Brennan couldn't explain.

Because of all the people she'd met in her life, Booth was the only one who truly understood her. And time, and space, and Hannah, and her refusal to take a chance on him had done nothing to change that.

But maybe, it had changed her.

Surprised to feel wetness on her cheeks, Brennan reached up to brush the tears away.

"You okay, Bones?" Booth asked suddenly, studying her in the mirror.

"Yeah," she said, turning her face toward the window. How to put into words that some of her walls were crumbling, but other parts of her were falling into place, right where they'd always belonged? "I'm fine."


	77. Chapter 77 - Administer

"What was in Boston?" he asked her to fill the silence of the car. Her tears had been like a punch to the gut, especially because he couldn't find out what had upset her with Hodgins there.

She wasn't surprised he knew where she was going. "Angela told you?"

"When we were trying to figure out where you were," Hodgins explained. "It helped narrow down where you might be."

"I'm not angry with Angela. She made a logical choice given the situation." She paused before answering the question. "There was a museum in Boston," Brennan said, She hadn't turned her head from the window. Her voice was subdued, but Booth couldn't see if she was still crying. "I was going to be in charge of cataloging bones and administering the department for the next year."

"There wasn't anyplace in Washington you could do that?" Booth asked.

"Of course there was, Booth. There were lots of places in Washington I could do that. I could have stayed at the Jeffersonian and done that. I'm very good at my work." Modest, she wasn't.

Booth lapsed into silence again, before finally asking another question. "Are you still going to go?"

She turned toward him and studied him while he drove. Hodgins wisely kept silent, interested in the answer as well.

"No," she said. "I'm not going to Boston."

Hodgins didn't try to hide his smile. "I'm sure Cam will give you your job back," he reassured her quickly.

But Brennan shook her head. "I'm not sure that's what I want either." After dropping that bomb, she turned back toward the window. "I don't know what I want right now, Dr. Hodgins."


	78. Chapter 78 - Embrace

Booth dropped Hodgins off at the Jeffersonian. Angela met him at the curb where they embraced, before Angela met Brennan at the car.

"Hey, Sweetie," she said. Angela's arms circled her friend tightly, and Brennan leaned into the hug.

"Thanks, Angela," Brennan said gratefully. "I'd probably still be there if it wasn't for you."

Angela shook her head. "Don't thank me, Brennan." She directed her attention toward the rear of the SUV where Booth and Hodgins were removing the equipment they'd borrowed from the Jeffersonian. "If it wasn't for Booth, we wouldn't have known to start looking."

Brennan pulled away from her friend and hobbled her way toward the front of the SUV. Booth was going to drive her home after their stop here. "He told me about his visions."

Angela looked closely at Brennan. "What do you think about that?"

Brennan shrugged. "He believes it happened. Just like he believes in God. For him there is no question about the truth of what took place."

"It wasn't just him, Brennan. Other than Sweets, the rest of us believed him, too. There was never any question in our minds that you needed help up there."

"I promised him, that I would just believe him. Like you did." Brennan paused and looked at Angela to see her reaction.

Angela raised her eyebrows. "You promised him that. No questions or scientific explanations?"

Brennan shook her head. "I promised," she said. Her voice trailed off as she looked at the men. She remembered Booth's image standing in front of her on that mountain and the promise she'd made to wait for him. "And I think maybe I believe in what happened to him," she admitted.


	79. Chapter 79 - Argue

"Why were you up on that mountain?" Booth asked.

"Why exactly did Hannah leave?" Brennan asked.

They stared, daring each other to speak. It seemed both had waited until Hodgins was gone to ask the questions they really wanted answers to.

Booth finally sighed and started the car to take her home. But he didn't put it in gear. "Hannah left because we both agreed the relationship had reached it's natural conclusion."

"That doesn't make any sense. Hannah and you loved each other," she argued.

"Yes, we did." Booth looked down at his hands where they gripped the steering wheel. "But Hannah wanted to be a war correspondent in dangerous places."

"And you were ready to be done with war," Brennan said gently. "That's why you said you had different goals."

"She loved me but not the way I needed. And I didn't love her the way she needed," he admitted. Yes, Booth was sure he'd loved her at the time. But the minute he knew Bones was in trouble, it was clear the feelings he had for Hannah didn't approach the feelings he had for Bones.

Brennan nodded. "So you decided that it was over?"

"We decided it together, Bones." Booth put the car in gear and turned toward her apartment. He'd drop her off and go home himself. Sleep in his own bed. In his empty apartment. Why did that suddenly sound so depressing?

"I'm sorry it ended that way," Brennan offered. "I only want you to be happy." Except, she wasn't all that unhappy that Hannah was gone. Maybe she hadn't missed her chance after all.


	80. Chapter 80 - Lose

"So," Booth said, wanting to turn the focus away from him for a few minutes. "Why were you up on that mountain?"

"That's why you were so angry with me, wasn't it?" she asked. "You were angry because I went up there by myself and didn't tell anyone."

He nodded. "You could have told Angela, or Cam, or left a damn map in your apartment where someone could find it."

"I gave myself a long lecture about that when I was up there by myself. Not one of my better decisions."

"The brilliant Bones is actually admitting she was wrong?" Booth put his hand to his chest in mock surprise. "I didn't think I'd ever live to see this day."

"I didn't say I was wrong," she said trying not to smile at his dramatics. "I just said I could have made a better decision."

Booth waited for her to continue, but for several minutes, she was silent. He recognized she was trying to understand her own actions and find words to explain them.

"I went up there once with my father. Not long before he and mom disappeared."

"We called Russ. He said you guys used to go up there all the time."

Brennan nodded. "I remembered that spot so clearly, because it was one of the last happy times we had together. I wanted to lose myself in those memories for a time."

"That seems like a pretty emotional decision for you, Bones."

"I know. I blame that on you."


	81. Chapter 81 - Monster

"Me? How is that my fault?"

"Before I met you, I led a perfectly fine life. I had my scientific work and I was making important contributions in my field. I liked my life," she said.

"You weren't," he started to respond, but Brennan held up her hand. He pressed his lips together and nodded for her to continue.

"And one day I met Angela. And she was so…" Brennan paused, trying to find the words to explain.

"Alive?" Booth asked.

"Exactly, but that was okay. I could kind of live through her. Until," she paused a second time and finally motioned toward him.

"Until I came along," Booth filled in for her.

"Yes. You stopped me in that airport that day and turned my whole life upside down. I couldn't hide in my office anymore. We were out in the field and talking to people and catching monsters and suddenly, I had to deal with things I wasn't ready to face."

"Like, emotions," Booth said. "And me. You had to deal with me."

"But I liked dealing with you," she argued. "You taught me about dealing with people and never made me feel stupid while you did it. I could understand the world outside my office, as long as I had you to explain it to me."

Booth pulled up outside of her apartment. "Do you still want to deal with me?" he asked. "You said in the car that you weren't sure you wanted to go back to the Jeffersonian." Had he saved her, only to have her leave him again?

"I haven't figured out the Jeffersonian yet. And Cam may not give me my job back, even though she'd be crazy not to. I am the best after all." she said. Carefully she maneuvered herself from the vehicle. One slip and Booth wouldn't leave her side until the cast was cut off. "But Booth, despite everything that has happened between us, you were the one thing I fought to survive for on that mountain."


	82. Chapter 82 - Hit

Booth unlocked her door and opened it for her. Her crutches made a clicking noise as she came in behind him. Only to stop short.

It was empty. Because all of her stuff had been shipped to Boston. The rest was in storage. Her old couch and an empty refrigerator welcomed her home.

Turning around slowly, she tried to think of another option. She could call Angela and Hodgins, but it seemed wrong to intrude on the couple when they had a baby on the way.

"I can sleep on the couch," she said finally. Her voice echoed in the empty space. "It shouldn't take more than a week to get my stuff shipped back from Boston. I can hire someone to deliver the rest from storage."

She looked so exhausted by the details that Booth reached out and put his arm around her waist before she hit the floor.

"Come on, Bones," he said. "My place has plenty of stuff in it. A couch and a bed. I'll even let you pick which one you sleep in."

"Booth, I can't impose like that. I'll be fine," she argued. But there was no firmness in her voice.

"No arguing," he said. With his arm around her waist, he turned her back toward the door. "I can handle a roommate for a week or two. It will save me from coming over late at night with take-out. You'll be doing me a favor."

"That argument seems so logical," she said.

"Of course it is," Booth closed the door behind them. "I learned from the best."


	83. Chapter 83 - Build

Booth heard her start the shower and sat wearily on the couch. He closed his eyes and listened to the water running in the bathroom.

After a time, he looked toward the closed door, considering what would happen next. He feared doing or saying something that would break the fragile connection they seemed to be rebuilding.

She would have to stay at his place at least a week, he figured. It would take that long to get everything resettled. He could sleep on the couch while she slept in the bedroom. Hopefully it wouldn't do permanent damage to his back. Or his heart.

She had admitted that he was the reason she fought to survive on that mountain. How many more times would she bruise his heart this week? But was it the deep friendship she'd fought to get back to or something more?

If it was only for the friendship, he was right back to where he'd been a year ago. Struggling to find a way to move on with a woman he'd never love quite as much as he loved Bones. And every time she ran into trouble, would the same thing keep happening over and over again?

How to get her to take a chance on him, without scaring her away? How to ask her, a second time, to include him in her future? And when should he tell her he was still in love with her? Because there was only one person you loved the most and for him, it would always be her.

Leaning back into the cushions, Booth closed his eyes. Right before he fell asleep, he considered a more immediate problem. How to make sure she never moved back to her own place.


	84. Chapter 84 - Destroy

Brennan hobbled her way out of the bathroom to find Booth sound asleep on the corner of the couch. Smiling, she reached for the blanket and covered him gently. It seemed cruel to wake him.

She'd spent some time considering her options while she washed the grime and dirt off her. She'd fought to survive to get back to Booth. After all that work, it didn't seem very logical to walk away from him again.

So she wasn't going to.

Careful not to wake him, she found his phone and called Cam. Hers was still somewhere in her rental SUV. After explaining that is was she, and not Booth who was calling, Cam immediately offered Brennan her old job back. And then promptly told her to take a week off.

Any other time, Brennan would have argued. This time she just thanked her and hung up the phone. She had other things to take care of. Besides, both women knew the vacation would never happen.

That little detail taken care of, she placed a second call to Boston, backing out of the job at the museum. The director was very gracious, promising that all her items would be shipped back immediately. Except for one box of books that had been destroyed by the shipping company.

Finding a second blanket, she sat at the opposite end of the couch, resting her leg on the coffee table. She could see Booth's bed from the couch, but taking care of those two things had sapped every ounce of energy she had left. Besides, the couch was comfortable enough to sleep on for one night. With the sound of Booth's breathing in the background, Brennan closed her eyes.


	85. Chapter 85 - Breath

The room around her was dark when Brennan snapped awake. Panicked, her mind raced. Convinced she was back on the mountain, she tried not to move. Carefully, she extended her right leg, only to have it fall from the couch and hit the coffee table.

Her sharp cry woke Booth. Using nothing but instinct to figure out where she was, he reached for her and pulled her toward him.

"Breathe," he said softly. "I'm here, you're in my place. I"m right here, Bones."

He felt, rather than saw her nod. After several minutes, her breathing slowed as she caught her breath. His body was warm next to hers and she fought the urge to move closer.

"Nightmare?" he asked gently.

Again the nod. "I was up on that mountain again," she said softly.

He kept his arms around her. "You're not," he promised. "I'm pretty sure we're on my couch."

"We are," she said, relief at being safe bringing tears to her eyes. "You were asleep when I got out of the shower. I left you there."

Which explained the tightness in his back. "Why were you on the couch then?"

This time a shrug. "Because you were here."

"I'll still be here if you sleep on the bed, Bones. We'll just keep the door open."

"Okay," she said, dismayed to find herself already half asleep in Booth's arms.

He laughed at her sleepy voice and scooped her up, despite the protest from his back. Setting her gently on the bed, he propped her leg up on a pillow and covered her with a blanket.

"Thanks, Booth," she whispered as her eyes closed.

Knowing she wouldn't remember it in the morning, Booth bent down and kissed her forehead. "My pleasure," he answered.


	86. Chapter 86 - Assist

Brennan was pleased the next morning to find she didn't need much assistance to get around. It just took her twice as long to get anywhere. And her arms were tired five minutes after she got up.

As Booth predicted, she didn't remember the kiss he'd given her last night. What she did remember was that she had several things she needed to do before she lost her nerve.

"Just sit," he said to her after watching her try and move around his kitchen. "I'll make us some breakfast."

"I got my job back," she said as he got eggs from the fridge.

He froze, before turning toward her. "You've decided to go back to the Jeffersonian?"

She leveled her blue eyes on him. "How else are we going to be partners if I don't?"

He grinned at her and Brennan returned his smile. "I take it you still want to be partners with me?" she asked.

He cracked open several eggs. "Silly question."

She took an audible breath. "Would you like to go to dinner with me?"

He blinked. "You mean after I get back today? Sure. You'll probably be ready to get out of here by then."

She traced her finger in a pattern only she could see on his table. "That's not what I meant."

Booth wondered if this was how she felt when she tried to translate other people's emotions. Because right that second he had no idea what she was asking him. "So you don't want to go to dinner?"

She sighed. "I am not doing this right. I want to know if you want to go out to dinner with me. Not to the diner. Someplace a little nicer." She still wasn't sure she was explaining it right.

It finally clicked. "Are you asking me out on a date?" Booth asked.


	87. Chapter 87 - Stab

"I know you like traditional," she said quickly. "So I probably should have waited for you to ask me, but considering our history, I was afraid that might not happen, so I figured I better take the cow by the horns -"

"Bull," he interrupted, amused by her nervous babbling. When had Bones ever been nervous about anything? "Take the bull by the horns."

"Oh," she said. She looked up at him, before going back to tracing her imaginary pattern. Booth couldn't help it. He laughed. A sound full of joy and disbelief. She couldn't have shocked him more if she'd pulled out a knife and stabbed him.

The line appeared between her brows. "I don't know what your laughter means," she said. "Is it a good thing, or a bad thing? I did it wrong, didn't I? Usually, guys ask me to dinner. I should have called Angela and asked her first."

"My laughter is a good thing," he reassured her. "It would be an honor to take a beautiful woman out to dinner."

"Where do you plan on finding one?" she asked.

He opened his mouth to laugh again when he realized it was a serious question. "You Bones," he clarified. "You're the beautiful woman I would be honored to go to dinner with." Okay, maybe she hadn't evolved quite as much as he thought.

He watched her eyes brighten at his answer and his heart skipped a beat. This was what he'd been waiting for; a chance to be with her. A chance to explore a relationship, to make a future with her. It was all he'd wanted for years.

She watched his eyes soften and looked at him curiously. "Are you okay, Booth?"

"Yeah, Bones," he said. Turning back to finish breakfast, he smiled. He was better than he'd been in a long time.


	88. Chapter 88 - Bite

"After we finish eating, can you give me a ride?" Brennan asked between bites.

He looked up concerned. "Cam didn't give you some time off?"

"Off course she did. I have no intention of taking it. I'm sure there are cases for me to look at."

"That's fine, Bones. I'll drop you off. I don't figure you'll get much work done today anyway." He knew it was pointless to argue. If he didn't drive her, she'd simply wait until he left and call a cab.

She looked confused. "Why wouldn't I? Trust me, Booth, my head is fine. I am perfectly capable of working today."

He shook his head. "That's not what I meant, Bones. I mean the people around you will want to hear about what happened."

"Angela will want all the details and Sweets will be-"

"Sweets," he finished for her.

"Exactly. He won't leave us alone until he gets some personal confession from one of us." Brennan's voice carried more than a trace of annoyance. She hated to be bothered when she was working, especially by someone asking questions that had nothing to do with science.

"The only thing I want from Sweets is an apology," Booth said, a hard edge to his voice.

"What does Sweets have to apologize for?"

"He believed in my visions even less than I thought you would. I told him when I found you with a broken right leg that I expected an apology."

"Do men actually apologize to each other?" she asked, unable to picture it.

"I guess we'll find out," he answered.


	89. Chapter 89 - Hunger

"What do you get someone when you've promised them the moon?" Booth asked before arriving back at the Jeffersonian.

Brennan wrinkled her forehead. "It's not actually possible to give someone the moon, Booth."

"I know that, Bones," Booth said patiently. "But when Cam was helping me narrow down where to look for you, I promised her the moon if I found you. Since I know you can't actually get a piece of the moon, I was just trying to think of something that might be close."

"Did you know that you can actually buy an acre of land on the moon?"

"Really, Bones?" How did she always know things like that?

"No, Booth, I'm serious. There's some company that lets you buy an acre of land on the moon. It's kind of silly, but they send you a certificate of ownership and everything. I don't think you actually own a piece of the moon, but it would be close to what you promised Cam."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Booth said, warming up to the idea. "Would you like to get some lunch later? I could pick you up so you didn't have to walk."

"When I was up on that mountain, it didn't seem like my hunger would ever be satisfied again. And I never want to see another protein bar as long as I live," she admitted with a grimace.

"Well, I don't think the diner sells protein bars. Or shakes, or anything else with protein in its name."

"That sound nice, Booth," she said. Brennan wasn't sure how to make sure he knew how much she appreciated all the little things he was doing for her.

"Stick with me, Bones. I'll make sure you always have enough to eat."


	90. Chapter 90 - Passage

Brennan was right when she said there would be work to do. A body was already waiting on the platform when she went in.

"You can clearly see, from the marks on the ribs, that this is where the victim was stabbed. Have Hodgins swab for particulates in the passage. Maybe he'll find something we can use to help us identify the weapon," she said to her intern several hours later.

Brennan removed her gloves with a snap, grabbed her crutches and carefully made her way down the stairs to her office. She smiled when she saw Booth waiting for her on her couch.

"I made reservations," he said.

Brennan looked out the open door. "Quiet," she hissed.

Booth looked at her. His heart dropped, but he kept his voice level. "Do you not want to go out anymore?"

"One time you told me that things that happened between us, were just between us. Did you not mean what you said?"

"And you want to keep this between us?" he asked, understanding immediately. And for once, he agreed with her logic. Hannah had just left. Some people would think they were moving too fast. It would be nice to just enjoy her for a time, without the constant scrutiny of her coworkers.

"Yeah," she said, pleased that she'd explained it so he understood. "Are you on your way to get your apology from Sweets?"

"I think he's been avoiding me. It's time to take care of that."

"I'd offer to go with you, but I find that walking with crutches is more tiring than I expected it to be."

"That's okay, Bones," he reassured her. "I can take care of Sweets."

"Just don't break him," she warned.


	91. Chapter 91 - Drama

"Sweets!" Booth greeted as he let himself into his office. "I haven't seen you this morning."

"Yes, well, I thought I'd give you and Dr. Brennan time to adjust to her being back again. It's been quite a tumultuous week for the two of you."

Booth slouched on the couch, adjusting his tie. "I'm not here for you to get all shrinky on me, Sweets." Booth never lost the jovial tone to his voice, but it was clear to both of them what he was there for.

Sweets sighed. "I am hoping we can do this without a lot of drama."

Meeting his eyes, Booth waited. "But it's apparent to me that something definitely happened in my office that day," Sweets continued. "And I was wrong not to at least listen to what happened with a more open mind."

Booth hopped to his feet. "Thanks, Sweets. That was all I needed." He had his hand on the doorknob when Sweets voice stopped him.

"I'm going to need to see you and Dr. Brennan at some point. We're going to need to talk about what happened and where the two of you go from here. Hannah being gone will change things between the two of you."

He opened the door and turned back around. "We're fine, thanks," Booth said in his typical tone when asked about something personal. "There is nothing to discuss."

"I would disagree. A dramatic event like the two of you experienced can leave lasting effects," Sweets tried again.

Booth turned his back so Sweets couldn't see his smile. Yes, dramatic events could cause lasting effects, but luckily for him, those effects weren't always bad.


	92. Chapter 92 - Haunted

"I saw you up there," Brennan said at lunch. Booth hesitated with the fork halfway to his mouth. Just when he thought he'd heard everything about that night, she would let something slip out of the blue and he'd realize he hadn't heard half of it.

"You saw me?"

"I'm pretty sure it was a hallucination because I hadn't had a lot of food and water. And there's the stress and the head injury to consider, too, so it might not have actually been you."

"But you saw me," he said again. Stunned, he set the fork back on the plate. "You mentioned something about this earlier, when we were in the hospital, but I didn't expect you to mention it again."

Brennan took a bite of her salad. "Nothing happened. I said a couple of things to you and you disappeared."

Now that was interesting. "You actually spoke to me."

"No," she said patiently. "I spoke to your hallucination. You weren't actually there."

"Okay. So what did you say to hallucination me?"

"I told you I wasn't giving up." She tilted her head, remembering. "I also told you that I didn't believe in ghosts, but if I died, I was going to make sure it was your house that was haunted. Or something like that."

"You picked my house to haunt? Thanks, Bones," he said. It was silly, but he liked the thought that she would pick him to come back to.

"But I don't believe in ghosts, Booth. So I wouldn't have come back anyway."

"That's okay, Bones. I believe in them enough for both of us."


	93. Chapter 93 - Crisis

Booth's phone rang. After a quick conversation, he hung up and looked at her. "There's some sort of crisis I need to go back to the office for. Do you need me to take you back?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. It takes me forever to get there anyway," she said, shooting an annoyed look at the crutches. The weeks until it came off had never seemed so long. "You go ahead. I'll see you later?"

He nodded. Before getting up from the table, he reached over and impulsively squeezed her hand. He let go just as quickly as he'd grabbed her and was gone before she could speak.

She was getting up from the table when Sweets slid into the chair Booth had just vacated. "I was just leaving," she pointed out.

"What I need will only take a minute."

Brennan hesitated, but finally sat back down. "What do you need, Sweets? I have a case."

"I wanted to talk to you about what Booth experienced when you were hurt."

"Why?" Brennan asked frankly. "I'm fine, he's fine. There's nothing to talk about."

"Dr. Brennan, an event like the two of you experienced can change people."

Brennan's eyes were distant as she thought about what Sweets said. "You're right. An experience like that can change people."

"Did it change you, Dr. Brennan?"

Brennan got back to her feet and settled her crutches under her arms. "Yes, it obviously did. I have a broken leg. I would think that's clear to everyone around me."

Sweets sighed. "That wasn't what I meant," he said as Dr. Brennan left him sitting at the table. No matter what happened to her, it appeared her literal interpretation of the world would never change.


	94. Chapter 94 - Dirty

Brennan's luck ran out in the early afternoon when both Cam and Angela cornered her in her office.

"Ladies, I have plenty of work to do," Brennan said. Maybe they'd just leave.

No such luck. "So tell us about the big rescue," Angela said. Her smile was mischievous. Hodgins had told her some, but there were all those hours when Brennan and Booth were stuck at the hospital together.

"I'm sure you've already heard about this from Hodgins," Brennan said, clearly dodging the question. "Besides there isn't much to tell."

Cam raised her eyebrows. "You were stuck up there for two days alone. I would think there would be plenty to tell."

"I was alone, dirty, hungry, and thirsty. I had a broken leg. Booth and Hodgins rescued me," she paused. "The end." she added as an afterthought.

Angela rolled her eyes. "Just the facts?"

Brennan looked confused. "I thought that was what you wanted."

Cam looked at Angela. "You do know you're not going to get anything out of her, right?"

But Angela refused to be deterred. "What about when you and Booth spent the night together in the hospital? Or now that you're staying together at his place?"

"I'm only staying there until my stuff gets back. Booth made a very logical argument on why it made sense." Brennan considered what else they might want to know. "I could reenact how I crawled back up the mountain," she offered.

Cam held up both hands. "No, that won't be necessary, Dr. Brennan. I'm sure you have plenty of work to do." She gave Angela a look Brennan couldn't read and backed out of the office.

Angela looked closely at her friend. "Are you sure there is nothing you want to share with your best friend about you and Booth."

Brennan met her friend's eyes without hesitation. "Not a thing."


	95. Chapter 95 - Emotional

"Did you find out anything about the stabbing victim?" Brennan asked Booth.

"Yeah," Booth said. He held out a file folder. Taking it, she opened it to find a mugshot staring back at her. "His name is Abel Johnson. Apparently he had some emotional issues. Got him fired from his last job. I'm on my way to talk to the ex-boss."

"Hodgins is working on identifying some particulates. Angela just left, but she should be working on the murder weapon."

"Did she give you the third degree?"

"I don't know that what means. Are you asking if she burned me?"

"No, Bones. I was wondering if she asked you a lot of questions."

"Oh. Yes, she did. She wanted to know about us. I told her there wasn't anything to know."

Booth lifted the corner of his mouth in a small smile. "Do you think she'll leave you alone now?"

Brennan took a moment to think about it. "She's my friend and she worries about me. So, no, I don't think she'll leave me alone. I would be sad if she did."

"I didn't mean, never mind, Bones. I'm going to go grab Sweets to talk to Abel Johnson's boss. Is there anything you can tell me that might help us?"

Brennan shook her head. "I can't draw any conclusions yet. When you pick me up this afternoon, I might have something for you."

Booth turned to leave, but stopped and walked back toward her. When he was close enough to touch her, he shoved his hands in his pockets to keep him from doing so. "I'm glad you're back, Bones. I couldn't do this job without you."

"Of course you couldn't. I'm the best."

Booth shook his head and moved to leave again when her voice stopped him. "But just so you know, Booth, I feel the same way."


	96. Chapter 96 - Moved

Angela cornered her in her office again the next day. Brennan had been trying to figure out a new password for her computer, but hadn't come up with anything yet. Her current one just seemed too perfect to change.

"Okay, Sweetie, it's time to tell me what's going on between you and Booth," she demanded.

"There's nothing going on between Booth and I."

"That's my point!" Angela cried. "The man moved heaven and Earth to find you on the top of that mountain, Hannah is gone, and nothing has changed."

"He didn't move Earth and Heaven doesn't exist," Brennan pointed out.

"Brennan, you almost died up there. And don't tell me you didn't. Hodgins told me you were lucky. That it could have been so much worse."

"Angela, we have rescued each other before and nothing changed. Why would you think anything would change this time?" Brennan felt like she was walking through a minefield. One wrong move and the secret would explode in her face. And the person most likely to cause that explosion was Angela.

"I guess because Hannah is gone and you told Booth just weeks ago that you made a mistake when you didn't take a chance with him. I hoped that maybe almost dying would convince one of you to make a move."

"I didn't almost die," Brennan said. Giving up on the password, she grabbed her crutches. "And what kind of move would we make?"

"I don't know why I bother anymore," Angela said sadly. "The two of you are like two planets that orbit each other forever and never crash into each other."

Brennan tilted her head and just looked at her. Frustrated beyond words, Angela turned on her heel and walked away. When she was far enough away, Brennan allowed herself a moment to laugh quietly.


	97. Chapter 97 - Boxes

"I almost gave up our secret today," Brennan admitted at the apartment that night. She hadn't heard anything about her boxes coming back to her place, and was surprised to discover she didn't really care anymore. Coming home to Booth each night was more enjoyable than she wanted to admit to herself.

"To Angela?" Booth guessed.

"Who else? She's been in my office twice in two days. She accused us of being two planets that orbit each other forever. Which was weird, because planets don't orbit each other."

"She just meant that we'd never take a chance on each other, Bones," Booth explained.

"That's what I thought. It was hard not to tell her the truth." She propped her foot up on a chair and sighed gratefully. "These crutches are going to give me muscles like yours pretty soon." She flexed her arm to show him.

He gave her and her arm an amused glance. "Do you want to tell her the truth?" Booth asked. "You're the one who wanted to keep our date a secret after all."

"I find that I like having a secret," she admitted. "Where are we going?" she asked. Booth hated it when she jumped topics like that. It always took him a second to catch up.

"Nope, not happening," Booth said. "You have your secret and I have mine."

"But," she argued. "That's not fair. We are both keeping the date secret. That means you have one more than I do."

"It's not a contest, Bones. It's just a date." Probably the most important date of his life.

Suddenly, she smiled and he looked at her suspiciously. Who knew what she had just come up with. "Don't worry," she said, patting his hand. "I still have a few things that will surprise you."

"Why doesn't that comment make me feel any better, Bones?"


	98. Chapter 98 - Crash

It was the noise that woke him. The sound of falling, of things crashing into each other and the ground.

Booth scrambled to his feet, racing for the bedroom. "Bones!" he called, not waiting for her answer. "Bones, are you okay?"

The door to the bathroom was closed and he opened it without hesitation, not once considering what might be going on behind that door.

She was standing at the sink, looking at him with an amused expression on her face. A toothbrush was in one hand. Her other was holding the sink so she didn't lose her balance.

"My crutches fell," she said with a laugh.

"Your crutches?" he repeated. He wondered if his heart would ever recover.

"Yes, Booth, my crutches. I didn't fall." She narrowed her eyes at him. "You fell asleep on the couch, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he said. "The crashing woke me up. I thought you fell."

"Well, that's logical considering the noise they made. But the next time you might want to knock first before just barging in the bathroom."

"Why? You didn't knock when you walked in on me that time."

"That was different," she said, her voice taking on that scientific tone.

He leaned against the door frame. "How is that different, Bones?"

"You were in the tub. It isn't my fault you stood up."

Shaking his head and her perverse logic, he moved around her to retrieve her crutches. "Could you do me a favor, Bones?"

"Sure," she said. There was not a single second of hesitation before the word was out of her mouth.

"Could you quit scaring me? If every time you do it, I lose five years of my life, I'm going to be dead before Christmas."


	99. Chapter 99 - Connection

"You don't worry we're moving a little fast? Hannah has only been gone a week and we are going on a date already." Brennan said the next morning.

"I think we've waited long enough," Booth said. He was making breakfast for both of them. Since Brennan's foot was broken, and everyone knew she was staying at his place, he didn't need to find an excuse for why they were riding in together.

"That's what I thought, too," she said,leaning past him to see what he was cooking. "It smells good."

So did she, but he had no intention of telling her that. He planned to simply enjoy her company for as long as it lasted. And he had their date to look forward, too. It had been a long time since he'd anticipated anything quite as much.

Seconds later, his phone rang and then her phone rang as well. "Guess we have a case," he said, hurrying to get breakfast on the plates.

"Breakfast is ready," Booth said to her when she finished her call. "Eat up and then I will drive you to the crime scene."

"That connection we had up on the mountain," Brennan said suddenly while grabbing her plate.

Booth looked up at her. "What about it?"

"Do you think we'll always have it?"

"Yeah, Bones," he said, setting down his fork. "I think we'll always know when one of us is in trouble. I don't think it will matter what happens between us in the future. Neither one of us will be afraid to cross a line, to do what it takes, to save the other. Because when we save each other, we save ourselves, too."

"Good," Brennan said. "I like knowing you always have my back."

He clinked his fork against hers in a toast. "And you'll always have mine. Just the way we always have."


	100. Chapter 100 - Skull

Despite the fact that there was an unidentified skull on the platform that day, Brennan left work early. If anyone noticed, they assumed she was still recovering from her ordeal and didn't question it.

It had taken a little work, but Brennan had a surprise for Booth that night. It came in the form of a little black dress.

It was hard to surprise Booth knowing he would be coming home soon to get ready. So her plan was to already be dressed when he arrived. It seemed the best way to see the full effect her dress had on him.

When his key sounded in the lock, she set her crutches next to her and used the couch for support. It was the best she could do.

Later, Brennan knew she would forever remember the look on his face when he walked through the door. His eyes moved slowly, taking in every detail between her head and her feet.

"Do you like it?" she asked softly. "Since you wouldn't tell me where we were going, this was my secret for you."

Booth swallowed heavily and set his keys on the table near the door. "Bones, there aren't enough words in the English language to tell you how much I like that dress. And I don't know any other languages to help me out."

She laughed, a seductive sound he'd never heard before. It did crazy things to his blood pressure. "Then I did okay?"

He walked toward her and without hesitation brushed his lips over hers. "Bones, I can't wait to see what the rest of tonight brings."

Her blue eyes met his and she smiled. "Only tonight?"

"No," he said. Reaching around her waist, he pulled her against him. "Forever, too. But for now, tonight is enough."

 _ **A/N: Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at fan fiction. Thank you for all the great reviews and comments. I appreciated everyone taking the time to tell me what they enjoyed.**_


	101. Chapter 101 - Magic

_A/N: Hi, everyone. I was bored tonight, and thought what the heck...maybe I'll add a chapter or two to this story. I have no idea how many there will be before I decide I'm done again, but I will be sticking to the 300 words per chapter theme to stay consistent with the rest of the story. I also don't have a whole bunch written ahead of time, like I did before, so there probably won't be more than one new one every couple of days._

Brennan had once heard that magic was simply an explanation for things science couldn't explain yet. Which she found ridiculous. Just because science couldn't explain something didn't make it magic.

Tonight, she discovered that magic had nothing to do with science.

He didn't drive her to a restaurant in town, or out of town for that matter. He drove her outside the city, to a quiet park on a hill. Where a solitary table waited for them under trees that danced with lights. Candles, flames drifting gently in the evening breeze, illuminated the carefully set table.

She sat staring, tears in her eyes, when Booth opened her door. She turned to him and brushed quickly at her cheeks.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. Had he done it wrong? He'd worked so hard to make this night perfect for her.

"It's perfect," she reassured him. Her voice was shaky and she gave him a watery smile. "It's just…it's magic," she said, giving up on finding the right words.

He smiled and held out his hand. She placed hers in his and let him help her from the car, even though it went against every independent notion she believed in.

Crutches firmly under her arms, she walked with Booth to the table. Ever the gentlemen, he pulled out her chair and helped her sit down.

She watched, tilting her head to the side, as he signaled to someone in the dark. Seemingly out of nowhere, a man in a tuxedo materialized with a bottle of wine in his hand.

"How," she stuttered. "How did you pull this off?"

He flashed her one of his charm smiles. "I've been planning this for a long time."


	102. Chapter 102 - Dream

She laughed as the mystery man poured the wine. "How long is a long time?"

He picked up his glass. "Since the day I looked into your eyes and saw my future."

She opened her mouth to remind him that she didn't believe in fate, but closed it without saying a word. She looked into his eyes, before picking up her glass and touching it gently to his. "What else do you see in our future?"

The look he gave her made her thankful it was too dark to clearly see her face. She could feel the heat of the blush that colored her cheeks.

Booth looked at her with a knowing smile. Maybe the darkness didn't hide her as well as she thought. "What else do you have planned?" she asked when he didn't say a word.

"Dinner, of course." He signaled again, and a first course of salad was set in front of her.

She picked up her fork, amazed at what he'd accomplished. "I want you to tell me how you pulled this off later."

"If you still want to talk later, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

She bit her lip. "Do you think we might be doing something later besides talking?"

He set his glass of wine down a little harder than necessary. Hell, yeah, he hoped to be doing something later besides talking. He started to say something, but Brennan's voice stopped him.

"I used to have this dream, when I was little, before my parents left," she whispered into the silence. "That I would fall asleep, outside, under a tree, and when I woke up fairies would be dancing around my head."

Booth leaned back and simply watched her. The subject change was obvious, but he let it go. "I would never have described you as whimsical, Bones."

"I was young," she said with a shrug. She looked around her, at the lights shining above her in the trees. "I just wanted you to know that this is the only dream from my childhood I've ever had come true."


	103. Chapter 103 - Remember

Brennan continued to be amazed the entire evening. For once, she let everything go; the worries about tomorrow, her fears about risking a relationship with Booth. She wanted to remember every moment of this evening.

When she shivered in the cool night, Booth came forward and pulled her to her feet. "I think it's time to get you back inside." He took off his coat and draped it gently over her shoulders.

It was warm from his body heat and she wrapped it a little tighter around her. Booth leaned forward to blow out the candles, but a hand on his arm stopped him. "Wait," Brennan said softly.

Crutches in position, she made her way slowly back toward the SUV. Booth walked next to her, curious as to why she wanted him to wait. When they arrived back at the vehicle, she turned and rested against it, her focus on the scene back up the hill.

The candles had burned lower and the table wasn't as carefully set as before. But to Brennan, it was still as beautiful as the first moment she'd seen it.

"I want to remember," she said to Booth. "When Angela or Cam ask me, or when I'm old and grey and reliving this night only in my memory, I want to remember it all."

Booth reached out and took her hand in his and settled next to her. He watched her eyes drift from one end of the scene to the other until she finally squeezed his hand.

"Go," she ordered. "Blow out the candles. We can't burn the trees down."

Nodding, he jogged quickly back up the hill. Looking back, just once, he wondered how he had gotten so lucky. So many twists and turns. How had they managed to finally have their chance?

Smiling, he thanked the fates, as a gentle breath blew out first one candle and then the other.


	104. Chapter 104 - Forgot

"Have you ever forgotten a thing in your life?" Booth asked when they were headed back to his place. Most first dates ended awkwardly at the front door. How lucky was he that they were staying in the same apartment? He wouldn't have to ask her in for drinks. She'd already be there.

"Yes," Brennan answered. "I've forgotten lots of things."

"Name one," he challenged her.

She took a breath. "I can name three." Holding up her fingers, she counted them off. "I forgot how to live. I forgot how to feel. And I forgot how not to be afraid."

Booth swallowed, shocked at the bluntness of the answer. He turned to look at her, but she had turned her face to the window. He was finally forced to look back at the road. What was it about the two of them and conversations that either took place in a moving vehicle, or in the dark? "Are you remembering how to do those things now?"

She laughed gently. "I'm not sure. But I'm trying."

Turning to reach out a hand, she brushed her knuckles across his cheek. Thankful they hadn't yet reached the highway, Booth pulled over to the shoulder of the road. He grabbed her hand and laid a gentle kiss on those knuckles.

Her hand was shaking when she pulled it away. "Do you think it's safe to be out here in the dark like this?"

"Your always safe with me," he reassured her.

"Mmmmm," she hummed. "I think we should go back to your place, just to be sure."

"Do you think you'll be safer there?" he asked, putting the SUV into gear.

"From the world, definitely," Brennan said. Her voice was confident. "From you, well," she said with a shrug, "time will tell."


	105. Chapter 105 - Start

Booth kept his foot on the brake. "You have to stop doing that, Bones." His voice had taken on a serious tone.

She looked at him with concern. "Stop what? Touching you? I'm sorry, I thought-"

"No," he said abruptly. She'd have the wrong idea in seconds and the date would be over. And probably any chance he ever had with her. "No. I want you to touch me. You have no idea how much I want to you touch me."

"But," she supplied.

"But you have to be sure. You can't keep making comments and tempting me with what might happen if it's not going to happen." His eyes were glued on hers. She had to understand this. "I can't cross that line and go back, Bones. If we're in this, it's for keeps. You have to be sure."

"So you need to know if I'm sure about us?" she asked, wanting to make sure she had the right question.

He nodded. "You don't have to be sure about marriage and children and things like that. I just need to know you're sure about giving the two of us a chance. That we aren't going to go to bed together and then you'll get cold feet and change your mind."

"I don't believe in marriage," she said quickly. Her eyes darted away from his. "But I didn't believe in love, either, not too long ago."

Her voice no more than a whisper, Booth wondered if she was talking to him or herself.

But then she smiled and he felt himself relax. "But I believe in you, Booth. I waited up on that mountain, never doubting the entire time you would come for me."

He nodded, but sensing she wasn't done yet, didn't speak.

"I'm not hiding from this anymore. And I don't change my mind after I make a decision. I'm sure, Booth."

He met her smile with one of his own. "Then let's go home and start the rest of our lives."


	106. Chapter 106 - Challenge

Booth held the keys in his hand, but didn't put them in the lock. "I think there's something I should tell you first."

Leaning on her crutches, Brennan tilted her head. "It sounds serious."

He sighed. "Listen, Bones, about the stuff that you had shipped back from Boston."

"What about it?"

"It got back two days ago. I had it delivered to your apartment."

She pinned him with her blue eyes. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"I don't want you to come in and spend the night here unless it's really what you want to do. I wan't you to have all the facts, so you're sure."

"Unlock the door, Booth," she ordered.

He smiled, but instead of unlocking the door, he dropped the keys at his feet. She looked down in surprise, but back up just as quickly when two warm hands cupped the sides of her face.

The kiss wasn't teasing this time, at least not like the one he'd delivered before the date. This one was full of promise, hunger, and heat. They gave and they took in equal measure, Booth letting the passion he'd hidden for years take over.

At that moment just before all sense is lost, Booth managed to pull back enough to lean his forehead against hers. My goodness, he thought.

"Maybe you should get that door unlocked," she suggested.

"Yeah," he agreed, his voice lower than usual. He ran his thumbs over her cheeks, relishing the feel of her skin beneath his fingertips. He wondered what the skin under the dress felt like. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

"I've always been very athletic, Booth. I'm sure we'll find interesting ways to work around the cast." She gave that low laugh again that sent his blood racing. "I'm looking forward to the challenge."

He let go of her to retrieve his keys from the floor. "I'm interested to see what you come up with," he said.

 _A/N: If you are a reader hoping the next segment will include some sort of racy bedroom scene, let me disappoint you now. This story is rated at T and will remain that way. Sometimes, things should just happen behind closed doors, at least in this story._


	107. Chapter 107 - Kind

They lay on their backs under a sheet, skin cooling in the night air. They'd managed to take the time to place her crutches next to the bed. The same couldn't be said for the clothes.

"I should really hang that dress up," Brennan said, wondering where it had landed.

Booth rolled to his side and traced his fingers down her arm. "I'm sure it will be okay for the night."

She nodded and turned her head so she could see his reaction to her next words. "I don't want to go back to my apartment, Booth."

He bent over to kiss a bare shoulder. "I was hoping this date wasn't quite over yet."

"No," she said, waiting until he'd lifted his head again. "I don't mean tonight. I mean ever."

"Oh," he said. "Are you asking if you can move in with me?"

"Clearly, I've already moved in with you. What I'm hoping is that you won't expect me to move back out again." She bit her lip nervously. "Logically, I'd understand if that's-"

He silenced her voice with a finger to her lips. "Stop talking, Bones." Reaching up, he brushed at a lock of hair that had fallen over her face. Booth closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if she saw the tears that suddenly appeared in them. Tonight had been more than he'd dare dream. Because to give voice to those dreams meant that he believed they could happen.

And he'd never found fate to be quite that kind.

When a gentle hand brushed at his cheek, Booth discovered his tears weren't quite the secret he hoped. Reaching up, he grabbed her hand and kissed her palm.

"I'm not always good at this, Booth," she began.

The corner of his mouth lifted, but he didn't open his eyes.

"However, you've taught me a lot of things over the years. So, based on that, happy tears is the conclusion I come to."

He opened his eyes and fell into her blue ones. "And like always, you're right."


	108. Chapter 108 - Knife

"So how was your weekend?" Angela asked. The thumping of Brennan's crutches announced her presence, and Angela didn't turn to make sure her assumption was correct.

"Fine," Brennan said. She was relieved Angela didn't turn and see her face as she answered the question. "What did you find out about the weapon?"

"I analyzed the pattern on the bones. The blade doesn't match anything in the computer. It may be custom."

Turning from the screen, Angela took a close look at her best friend. There was something different about her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Yet.

"Did you and Booth do anything special this weekend?"

"Watched some old television show. It had vampires in it. I found it fascinating anthropologically. In one scene-"

"Yeah, that's great, Sweetie," Angela interrupted. "Are you sure that's all you did this weekend?"

Brennan opened her mouth to make another comment on the television show, figuring it was a safe topic, when Hodgins stormed into the office.

"Oh, boy," he announced. "Have I got some great stuff. You know that particulate found in the wound? At first, I thought it was just a common ingredient used in knife handles."

"But?" Brennan asked.

Hodgins grabbed the controller from the desk and brought an image of the shard up on the screen. "It's walrus tusk."

"Walrus tusk can only be owned or acquired by Native Americans. I'll go tell, Booth." Brennan said.

Angela watched her friend make her way out of the office, a curious expression on Angela's face. Hodgins came up next to her. "Something wrong?"

Shaking her head, Angela turned to look at her husband. "Not wrong, just different."

"Dr. Brennan seems the same as she always has."

"Nope," Angela disagreed. "Something is different. And I'd bet money it has to do with her and Booth."

Hodgins eyes brightened. "A bet, huh? What do you want to bet? I'm always willing to start a pool."

"Twenty says she never leaves that apartment," Angela said.

Hodgins shook his head. "No way. She likes her independence too much. Twenty says she's out by the end of the month."

Smiling, Angela turned away. "You're on."


	109. Chapter 109 - Plot

"What do you have for me, Bones?" Booth asked. He practically bounced into her office. Brennan looked at him like he was a misbehaving child.

"You act like that every time you see me, this won't be a secret for long."

"Fine," he grumbled. "Do you have something for me or not?"

Brennan leaned back, amused to see him pouting like that same child. "It's about the handle of the knife. Hodgins said it was made of walrus tusk."

"Walrus tusk," he repeated. "Is that rare?"

She nodded. Clicking a few keys on her keyboard, she turned the screen toward him. "Not only is it rare, only someone who is of Native American descent should own it."

Booth's eyes brightened. "That description fits the wife. I'll pick up Sweets and bring her in."

Brennan sighed. "I'll be glad when this cast comes off so I can be your partner again. I'm tired of being stuck in the office."

"It won't be long," he encouraged. "I'll make sure the time goes by fast. And you're still my partner, even with the cast."

She smiled. "Will we pass time by watching more shows with vampires? I found it a fascinating way to spend an evening."

He raised his eyebrows and then thought about who he was talking to. "I'm thinking it's not because of the plot."

"No, while I find the plot ridiculous…" she trailed off and looked at Booth's face. "You're teasing me, aren't you."

"Yeah, Bones. I'll pick you up later."

"Be careful, Booth. The evidence indicates she might be responsible for the death of her husband."

He nodded, touched by her concern. "I'll call you when I get back. Do you want to be in on the interview?"

"No. Take Sweets. I'm sure he'll relish the opportunity to spend time alone with you."

Booth groaned. "That's what I'm afraid of."


	110. Chapter 110 - Angry

"So how are you and Dr. Brennan readjusting?" Sweets asked as they traveled toward the suspect's home.

"We're fine." True to form, Booth thought. I wonder how many of these questions I'll have to avoid. "When we pick up the suspect, Brennan didn't want to be in on questioning, so you're it."

"You're clearly changing the subject, Agent Booth. I think you and Dr. Brennan should join me for counseling again."

"Nope. Not happening." Booth didn't even turn toward the psychologist next to him. "Bones and I are working together quite well. We have a clear suspect for this case."

"You understand I'm just trying to help, Agent Booth."

"Help like you did when Bones fell off that cliff? Cause you were a big help then," Booth said, before he could stop himself.

Sweets was silent for a moment. His voice was quieter when he started speaking again. "I thought we were past that, Agent Booth."

Booth looked at him quickly before turning back to the road. "Yeah, so did I. Guess I'm still a little angry."

"Do you think you have a right to be angry, Agent Booth?"

"Oh, no," Booth said quickly. "This is not turning into a discussion about my feelings. Or your feelings. Just forget I said anything."

Pausing, Sweets considered his options. Pushing Booth on this probably wasn't the best approach and he clearly would not talk about Dr. Brennan, so that left only one thing. "So what kind of evidence do you have on the victim's wife?"

Relief was clear on Booth's face. "Some knife made out of walrus tusk. Apparently walrus tusk has restrictions on who can own it. The victim's wife qualifies."

"Jealous rage?" Sweets asked. "Did the husband have a girlfriend on the side?"

Booth shrugged. "Angela's following up on cell phone calls now. I thought you and I could have a little chat with the wife and see what comes up."


	111. Chapter 111 - Creepy

"So the wife confessed to everything?"

Brennan and Booth were in her office. It was well after dark and both were more than ready to return home to the apartment. Sometimes the paperwork took longer than the actual cases, it seemed.

"As soon as I showed her my badge, the tears started." Booth replayed the scene in his mind. "She held out her hands so I could put the cuffs on her right after that."

"That's probably one of the easiest cases we've ever solved."

"I know. She kept talking the entire way back about how her husband was having an affair, that he treated her like dirt. Said she just lost it one night and stabbed him with the first thing that was handy." Booth paused. "I said something I probably shouldn't have to Sweets today."

Brennan looked up and waited for him to continue.

"I implied I was still angry that he didn't help me when you had your accident."

"Are you still angry?"

Booth ran a hand through his hair. "A little," he admitted.

"You have a right to feel that way, Booth. He didn't act like a very good friend, even if your story is hard to believe. Just give it some time." Looking around her office, Brennan held out her bag for Booth to carry. "I think I have everything I need."

Booth took the bag from her. "Then let's go home."

Together, they walked out into the main portion of the lab. Most of the lights were off and there was no one around. Booth was just superstitious enough to find it all a little creepy.

"You okay?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah. This place is really quiet at night."

Brennan looked around. "I like it like this. I've gotten a lot of work done this time of night."

Booth turned toward her, stopping her with a hand on her arm. Bending down, he kissed her gently. "I missed doing that today. How much longer do you plan on keeping this secret?"

She shrugged. "Guess we'll see what happens."


	112. Chapter 112 - Purse

"I'll only being a minute, Hodgins," Angela said, walking in the area above the lab. "I left my purse up here earlier."

Hodgins didn't even bother to ask how it ended up there to begin with.

Bending over to grab her purse, she looked out over the lab as she stood.

The scene that greeted her froze her in place.

"Oh my God," she whispered.

Hodgins came up beside her. "What's going on?" he asked. Turning to see what she was looking at, he also found himself freezing in shock. "Is that-?"

"Brennan," Angela finished for him.

"And -?"

"Booth," she finished again.

"Are they kissing?"

"I think so."

"Damn," Hodgins muttered. Reaching for his wallet, he handed Angela twenty bucks.

Without taking her eyes from the scene, she shoved the money into the purse she still held in her hands. "I wonder how long this has been going on?" she whispered.

"And how Dr. B. managed to keep it a secret?" Hodgins added.

"Do you think they know we're up here?" Angela asked.

Booth lifted his head and caught a glimpse of two people standing on the overlook above the lab. Keeping his head close to Brennan's he whispered, "Our secret's out."

Brennan's eyes widened, but she gave no other indication that she was aware someone else was there. "Angela?"

"Of course. You do know, if they get down here, we are never getting home."

Pressing her lips together, Brennan considered their options. "I'd suggest running, but these crutches are just going to slow us down."

"I have an idea," Booth said, whispering in Brennan's ear.

When he finished, she looked at him suspiciously. "Do you really think that will work?"

"Trust me."


	113. Chapter 113 - Home

Turning, the partners looked up above them. Booth put an arm around Brennan's waist as he waved to the two people looking down on them guiltily. "We're just on our way home," he announced. "And while we'd love to stay and chat, we have other things we'd like to be doing tonight. So we'll see you tomorrow."

"Booth," Brennan hissed. "You just implied we were going back to your place to have sex. You didn't mention that as part of your plan."

He smiled at her as they moved toward the exit. "Aren't we?"

She huffed. "Well, yes, but did they need to know that?"

"Angela's wanted us to be together for years. She isn't going to stop us if that's what she thinks we're doing." Booth held the door for her as they exited the lab. "Looks like we're both going to have fun tomorrow."

"That was sarcasm, wasn't it." The thought of tomorrow was already making her grumpy.

"You'll get Angela and I'll get Sweets."

"I'm calling in dead," Brennan muttered.

Hodgins stared wide eyed at his wife. "Did he just imply they were going back to his place and spending the night together in the same bed?"

Angela was almost giddy. "Yes, he did. It's about time."

"And you aren't going to ask them a thousand questions before they leave?"

"No. Those two have waited long enough. They'll get tonight and tomorrow, Brennan will be all mine." The list of questions was already forming in her head. Considering what had taken place, Angela had to admit she was impressed. She never thought her best friend had the ability to keep a secret as big as this one.

Laughing at the thought of the grilling Brennan was in for tomorrow, Angela and Hodgins turned just in time to watch their two friends walk off together into the night.

 _A/N: I'm declaring this the end for the second time. But since that didn't really last the first time, who knows what will happen. Thanks for reading!_


End file.
